Donny van de Beek may snub Evra's Man Utd transfer advice after emotional return

20 July 2023 , 09:33

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Donny van de Beek may snub Evra's Man Utd transfer advice after emotional return

Donny van de Beek has refused to rule out the prospect of him staying at Manchester United next season after his pre-season stunner against Lyon.

The Netherlands international has drastically underwhelmed since he arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax for a fee of £40million in the summer of 2020. As a result, his stock has fallen considerably since he was a key figure in the Ajax side that reached the last four of the Champions League in 2019.

Van de Beek's three years with the Red Devils have seen him endure a difficult loan spell at Everton, three different managers in the Old Trafford hot-seat and just 34 league appearances to his name. He may be hopeful he can force his way into Erik ten Hag's plans next term and got his pre-season campaign off to an impressive start on Wednesday.

United faced Ligue 1 giants Lyon in Edinburgh and ran out 1-0 winners after Van de Beek notched the only goal of the game with a delightful volley that serves as a reminder of the Dutchman's supreme technical quality. The midfielder looked overcome with emotion as he celebrated his strike.

After the game, Van de Beek kept his cards close to his chest when it came to an update over his club future. Pressed for comment, he said: "For now, it’s hard to say where my future is. I’ve come back now after injury and I’m fit now, so I play my first minutes after training for a few weeks, so I try to push as hard as possible.

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"Every day [something] can happen, so it’s hard to say now where my future will be. In football you never know, especially with me, so let’s see what happens."

Donny van de Beek celebrates his stunner against Lyon on Wdnesday

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Directly asked if he could stay at Old Trafford, Van de Beek added: "Yeah, but it’s also a possibility that I move, so everything is open. It’s hard to say now where my future is. I’m focussing on getting as fit as possible and pushing on."

Were Van de Beek to stay, he would be ignoring the advice of a United legend in Patrice Evra, who encouraged the Dutchman to leave back in November of last year.

"My advice to him is that he needs to go somewhere where he feels loved. The problem in England, not just Manchester, is that people don't respect him. He's a very good player," the ex-United defender told Betfair.

Donny van de Beek admitted he could still stay at United this summer (Sky Sports Premier League/Youtube)

"He reminds me of [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan and [Alexis] Sanchez when they struggled at United. When these things happen, you have to go. He's losing his time.

"He's getting injured, he's not playing enough and when he plays all the pressure is on him. I don't think he can deal well with the pressure. Go to where you feel loved is my advice."

Van de Beek remains contracted to United until the summer of 2025, but it is believed those at the top of the club hierarchy are willing to part ways this summer for less than the £40m they forked out for him.

Josh O'Brien