Donny van de Beek: midfielder ‘assessing his options’ ahead of potential January move

When it comes to names being linked with January moves, Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek won’t be far from the headlines over the coming weeks.

Reports again this week have suggested that the former Ajax man is not completely content at Old Trafford after a difficult first season and a half at the club.

But whether he’ll be allowed to leave the Red Devils is a totally different matter...

What has been reported?

According to ESPN, Van de Beek will ‘continue to assess his options’ in January and is not wholly convinced he will see more game time under Ralf Rangnick.

The report added that any potential loan move away this month would need to cover all of his wages, while Rangnick would have the final say on whether he can leave.

However, The Telegraph claim Newcastle United will attempt to bring the Dutchman to St James’ Park in January, while Rangnick does want him to remain the club.

Meanwhile, a report in The Mirror said Van de Beek couldn’t move to a Premier League rival due to a contractual dispute between the player and his former representative.

Journalist Jonathan Shrager seemed to confirm the existence of such a clause in a tweet, but said Van de Beek’s “new agency can technically still negotiate a transfer abroad.”

How much has Van de Beek played under Rangnick?

The midfielder must have hoped a change in manager would lead to more minutes on the pitch, but it’s largely been the same story with Rangnick as it was under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Van de Beek has started just once under the German, a meaningless Champions League clash against Young Boys, while in all five league matches since the appointment, he has featured for all of just six minutes.

The 24-year-old was also an unused substitute in the Red Devils’ last three games, against Newcastle United, Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“So far as I have got to know him he’s got a top mentality, he works hard in every training session,” Rangnick said recently, when asked about Van de Beek’s future.

“He’s a team player through and through and there will be games where he will get his chance to play I’m sure. He wants to…play in the World Cup in Qatar and in order to do that he needs to get game-time here.

“But I still believe that we should keep him, that he should stay here, definitely until the end of this season and try to get as much game-time as he possibly can.”

Should United let Van de Beek go?

It feels like we’ve written about this topic a lot over recent months, but either Van de Beek has to stay at United and play, or leave.

There is simply no sense in having a valuable asset sitting twiddling his thumbs on the substitutes’ bench, as he has done for most of his time at United so far.

For that reason, a short-term loan seems like the perfect solution for all parties. Van de Beek can play some minutes, another side will benefit from having the centre-midfielder in their XI, while United can avoid paying at least some of his wage for a few months, and hopefully get a much improved player back for the start of the 2022/23 campaign.