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Erik ten Hag sends brutal warning to Manchester United flop

Published

2 years ago

November 11, 2022

Leicester City eager to provide Donny van de Beek with a Manchester United exit strategy

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Erik ten Hag has warned Donny van de Beek he has entered the last chance saloon at Manchester United but has ruled out a January loan move.

Much was expected of the attacking midfielder when he joined the Premier League giants from Ajax over two years ago in a £35million deal.

The 25-year-old struggled, however, to win the faith of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was unable to make an impact under Ralph Rangnick after he was loaned out to Everton in January, a move that did little to reignite his career.

It was hoped that a reunion with Ten Hag, his manager at Ajax, would spark Van de Beek into life but he has again been reduced to a bit-part role.

Van de Beek has featured in United’s two most recent games against Aston Villa but flattered to deceive. Ten Hag maintains he saw green shoots of recovery but urged his compatriot to seize what will, in all likelihood, be his final chance to save his United career.

“Yeah, I see the opinion [that he might not suit England], but when I watched back the performance against Sociedad and at Villa, he is in the positions that I expect No.10s to do and nowadays that tends [to be] really difficult to show themselves.

‘What he [Van de Beek] is doing well is his positioning and his movements into space with strikers, especially with that No.9.

‘That combination is really good, positioning and anticipation in and out of possession, and he did it to my satisfaction in the last games.

‘I have seen he [Van de Beek] isn’t on the scoring list, he is not on the assisting list, and he can do better. I think he’s still not on his limits.

‘I’ve seen him better in the past. But I think positioning-wise, he’s acting quite well. But he has to make that step up.

‘I don’t think a loan [makes] sense. It’s either he fights [for] himself and proves himself, in this atmosphere in this environment, or he goes.

‘But for me, there is still a way for him, there Is still a perspective for him. It’s not going to be easy because the competition there is really strong.’