Why Van de Beek's Man Utd nightmare is continuing at Everton
Robin Bairner
- 9 Mar 2022 03:33 CST
- 3 min read
Donny van de Beek’s move to Everton on loan in the January transfer window was supposed to signal the end of a trouble period of his career.
The Netherlands star struggled for game time at Old Trafford and has been desperate to leave for months.
Having been granted that wish, though, little has improved for him at Everton, where he has played five times.
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It is notable, though, that Van de Beek already seems to be losing the confidence of manager Frank Lampard. After debuting off the bench in a defeat to Newcastle, the former Ajax star has started the last four games but has seen his influence decline with time.
After completing 90 minutes against Leeds and Southampton, he was taken off 19 minutes from the end against Manchester City then hooked after an hour as Everton were routed 5-0 by Tottenham on Monday.
It was a clear sign that life away from Man Utd is not going to be as rosy as Van de Beek might have hoped.
Van de Beek suffering at Everton
However, as Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher pointed out, Everton are hardly well set up for the 24-year-old to thrive.
“The lack of athleticism in that Everton team is frightening,” he said. “When you look at midfield, Allan can’t run, Donny van de Beek’s come in, he can’t run.
“None of the back four can run. Harry Kane was running past Michael Keane for one of the goals runs. Harry Kane is not sprint champion.
“They’re weak physically and that’s a massive problem going forward for them.”
Indeed, Van de Beek was signed by Manchester United for his ability to use the ball as opposed to being a dogged defender or an all-action player.
Everton, meanwhile, are a club low in confidence and are seeing little of the ball for Van de Beek to exploit. As such, what qualities he does have are not being made evident.
Rather than being a step forwards for Van de Beek, he appears to have gone backwards with this loan, and that is a worrying sign ahead of his inevitable summer return to Man Utd.
