Fabrizio Romano confirms summer exit of Man Utd flop

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 23 Apr 2024 12:47 BST
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Donny van de Beek will return to Manchester United this summer but the club will immediately try to sell him.

Van de Beek moved to Eintracht Frankfurt on loan until the end of the season during the January transfer window.

A buy option which would reach around €15m with add-ons was attached to the deal.

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer news

However, the 27-year-old has failed to impress with the Bundesliga side. He has made just four starts and seven appearances in total, scoring no goals and making no assists.

Romano says Van de Beek’s loan will not be made permanent and he will return to United, who will then look to move him on again.

What did Romano say?

"The feeling is that Donny van de Beek will return to Manchester United this summer as Eintracht Frankfurt have decided not to trigger the buy clause in his loan deal,” Romano said on CaughtOffside.

“So, van de Beek will be back at Man United, but he’s not going to stay - from what I’m told, United have already explored other possibilities around Europe for the Dutch midfielder to leave this summer. He will be available on the market, and he will not stay at Old Trafford.”

Van de Beek's Man Utd career

Van de Beek was a big-money signing in the summer of 2020 as Man United splashed out up to €45 million to buy him from Ajax.

However, the midfielder has proved to be a massive flop – scoring just two goals and making two assists in all competitions over the last three years.

This season, before his January loan move, Van de Beek made two appearances totalling 21 minutes for Manchester United.

He made just two Premier League starts last season – and seven appearances in all – and was on the pitch for only 164 minutes in total. He had no goal contributions.

He spent six months on loan at Everton in 2022 where he also disappointed.

At Ajax, Van de Beek emerged as one of the most promising young players in Europe as he played a pivotal role in the club reaching the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League.

While at Ajax, he scored 41 goals in 175 appearances.