Things haven’t really gone according to plan for Man United during the 2023/24 season.
After an impressive start to his managerial career at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag has fallen out with some big first-team stars and appears unable to motivate the rest of the squad in the biggest matches.
Another loss against Newcastle on Saturday night is symptomatic of their problems at present.
It isn’t just on the pitch where they have problems either, with the proposed 25 percent partial takeover of the club by Sir Jim Ratcliffe taking an age to complete.
All in all, it’s not the best time at all for such a storied outfit, and Donny van de Beek’s woes mirror that of his employers.
The Dutchman, who was the fulcrum of ten Hag’s Ajax side, has only managed 21 minutes of action for the Red Devils this season, per WhoScored.
No wonder Fabrizio Romano says it’s time for him to leave the club now.
‘It’s too early to say where Donny van de Beek will end up but it’s really time for him to leave Man United,’ he wrote in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside.
‘His agents will speak to clubs in the next few weeks to see how much interest there is in their client, and there are expected to be many possibilities from in different countries… England, Spain, Italy and more.
‘He was very close to Real Sociedad in the summer, very close. He wanted to go there but the deal collapsed because of the clubs, not the player. The young Dutchman isn’t thinking about leaving England, it’s just about picking the best project to play regularly.’
As Romano notes, it’s not clear at this point where van de Beek will finally end up, but with the European Championship just a few months away, it’s vital that he plays somewhere other than Man United, even on loan.
His confidence has clearly been shot to pieces during his time at Old Trafford, and that’s a damning indictment on the management of the first-team.