Man Utd right to not let Donny van de Beek leave on loan

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 20 May 2021 11:26 BST
• 2 min read

Man Utd have reportedly rejected loan offers for Dutch international midfielder Donny van de Beek, who only joined the club six months ago.

The 23-year-old arrived from Eredivisie giants Ajax in a £40m deal to much fanfare, but he’s struggled for game time in his first few months as a Premier League player.

After making just two top-flight starts at the halfway stage of the season, some suggested Van de Beek was set for a quick exit, however, according to ESPN Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have knocked back several loan enquiries as the Norwegian boss looks to keep the majority of his squad together.

With the current campaign being even more tightly condensed and congested than ever before, the Red Devils have done the sensible thing in retaining their summer signing. Although he has failed to find the back of the net since the opening day of the season, Van de Beek offers a genuine quality alternative to the likes of Paul Pogba, something Man Utd didn’t have before his arrival.

Jesse Lingard hasn’t played, Juan Mata is deep into his twilight years, and Andreas Pereira has been shipped out to Lazio after failing to impress. Van de Beek offers more quality than all of the aforementioned players and, in this unusual campaign, Solskjaer will need strength in depth if he plans on fighting on three fronts.

The Old Trafford outfit have been knocked out of the League Cup, but they remain in contention to win the Europa League and FA Cup while also being at the top of the Premier League standings. If United have serious ambitions of securing some silverware come May, then they’ll need the whole of their squad to play their part.

Van de Beek isn’t the only foreign import who has struggled to settle in the Premier League this season. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have found it equally tough at Chelsea, and the division’s history is littered with stars who have taken 12 months to find their feet and produce their best football.

Man Utd most likely won’t see a genuine return on their investment until next year. In the meantime though, he’s certainly worth keeping around.