Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd outcast voices belief he can change Ten Hag mind as January exit is thrown into doubt
Manchester United outcast Donny van de Beek is willing to fight for his place in the squad which could cast doubt over a potential January exit.
Since his move over to Manchester in 2020, Van de Beek’s footballing reputation has taken quite a hit. He has fallen down the pecking order in the Netherlands national side as well as at Old Trafford.
The majority of his appearances in the Premier League have come from the bench.
Across his first three seasons with the club, Van de Beek has only started in four league matches. As a result of his limited game time, he spent the second half of last season on loan with Everton.
The 25-year-old only racked a total of 484 minutes whilst at Goodison Park. Given Everton’s struggles though he once again struggled to make an impact.
It was thought that this season would have been a fresh start for Van de Beek. Given that Erik ten Hag had previously worked with him. The midfielder had his most prolific season whilst working with Ten Hag at Ajax.
A knock has kept him out for the majority of the season so far though and he now looks to be on his last chance at Old Trafford.
Van de Beek is willing to fight for his place
Despite the struggles he has had since arriving in Manchester, Van de Beek remains upbeat. In the build-up to United’s clash with Real Sociedad, Van de Beek has opened up on his current situation with the club.
He told club media: “To be injured is the most difficult thing for a player. You want to be on the pitch, around the guys in the stadium, feel the grass and, yeah, it’s a hard time if you are injured.
“I’m happy to be back and have to stay fit for a longer time and just try to help the team.
“I feel great, I feel good and what I’m saying is I just need to keep going and, if chances come, I have to take them.
“It [playing an attacking role] is also one of the points how I can maybe help the team, play in between the lines and make my runs with the ball, give some passes. I just do my best and have to stay fit and just help the team.”
Man United could still top their group
Man Utd have already qualified from their group, but they could still top the group. They must beat Real Sociedad by at least two goals in order to overtake them.
Van de Beek remains confident that Man United have what it takes to top their group.
He added: “First, we have to go for the win but, even that, we have to do more than that, as we have to win by a goal difference of two goals.
“So we have enough players in the squad who can score goals and also need clean defending because we can’t concede too many goals. So everything has to be good on Thursday.
“They have a good team as well but we do also. We have to show it on Thursday and put a lot of energy into the game and we also need clean defending and score two more goals than them.”
The Dutch midfielder seems as if he is willing to fight for his place in the side. The likes of Leicester, Valencia and Inter Milan have all been interested in bringing him in.
His current deal with United runs until the summer of 2025. Time will tell if any clubs are prepared to take a gamble on the midfielder.