'Dirt cheap' Man Utd flop to be flogged to former club

Manchester United flop Donny van de Beek could be sold to former club Ajax ‘dirt cheap’ this summer after failing to impress during a loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Bundesliga side took Van de Beek on a half-season loan back in January with a view to making the deal permanent at the end of the current campaign.

However it was reported last week that Frankfurt were experiencing "disappointment across the board" owing to the poor output on the part of the Netherlands international.

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Van de Beek has played in only six of the 10 Bundesliga matches he’s been available for, making four starts, scoring no goals and registering no assists.

As a result, Frankfurt will not be seeking to convert his loan to a permanent deal, meaning United stand to lose out on a potential €11 million fee, which could rise to €14m including add-ons and bonuses.

That is a significant drop on the €35m + €5m United paid to Ajax for the midfielder back in 2020 but they risk losing him for nothing when his contract expires in 2025 should no deal be agreed with other clubs.

Ajax have now been mentioned as a possible destination for the 26-year-old, who starred for the Amsterdam club during their run to the Champions League semi-finals under Erik ten Hag back in 2019.

Van de Beek could be available for “dirt cheap”

A report in Soccer News suggests that United would be interested in getting rid of Van de Beek on the cheap owing to having little headroom in their budgets due to financial fair play and profit and sustainability rules compliance.

That could allow the Eredivisie side to pounce in a “dirt cheap” deal, according to the report.

While United will be seeking around €10m for the goalscoring midfielder, it’s not a price Frankfurt were willing to get near and therefore discounts for other interested parties could well be available.

Van de Beek stands among Man United’s many transfer bombs, having appeared only 62 times across four years, with over half of those matches coming in a single season back in 2020-21.