Ten Hag sanctions transfer after Man Utd ace snubbed in final pre-season tie
Donny van de Beek is poised to move to Real Sociedad after Erik ten Hag made his thoughts on the Manchester United midfielder perfectly clear.
United have splashed over £170million this summer to sign Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund and need to sell some fringe players to balance the books. Van de Beek has started just six Premier League matches since joining the club in a £40m transfer from Ajax in August 2020.
The Dutch midfielder played under Ten Hag to great effect at Ajax, but there is no room for sentimentality at United this summer. Van de Beek has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons and is now ready to move on.
BBC Sport reports that Van de Beek is in talks with Real Sociedad over a permanent transfer away from Old Trafford. His place in the squad was shown on Sunday when he was the only player to be withdrawn from a much-changed side at half-time of the 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao in a pre-season friendly in Dublin.
The £60m arrival of Mount from Chelsea showed that Ten Hag did not trust Van de Beek to feature heavily in the upcoming campaign. He has contributed just two goals and two assists in 60 appearances altogether for the club.
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Van de Beek has now fully recovered from the knee injury which saw him miss the second half of last season and a move to Spain would represent a fresh start for the 26-year-old. He is one of several players who could leave United before the transfer window closes on September 1.
Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Fred, Eric Bailly and Dean Henderson have all been transfer listed. United are keen to shift some unwanted players, with Anthony Elanga, Alex Telles and Zidane Iqbal the only players to move on for transfer fees so far this summer.
Donny van de Beek may have played his last game for Manchester United (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Manchester United sell Donny van de Beek? Comment below.
Maguire and McTominay have received interest from West Ham, Fred has been courted by Fulham and Galatasaray, Bailly could leave to Saudi Arabia or Turkey, while Henderson wants to join Nottingham Forest on a permanent deal following a loan spell at the club.
United are waiting for departures to be confirmed before giving Hojlund a shirt number. The 20-year-old Danish striker has joined in a £72m deal from Atalanta and may take the number of a departing player.
Hojlund wore the number 17 for Atalanta last season and the number nine for previous club Sturm Graz. Fred currently occupies the No17 at United, while No9 belongs to Anthony Martial.
Having completed their pre-season campaign, United begin their Premier League season against Wolves on Monday.
Ten Hag gave a strong hint towards the make-up of that side for the opening game by playing a strong side against Lens on Saturday.
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