Forgotten £35million Manchester United man might give Sir Jim Ratcliffe his biggest summer challenge

When Manchester United appointed Erik ten Hag as manager in April 2022, few would have welcomed the news more than Donny van de Beek.

The Netherlands midfielder had excelled under Ten Hag's stewardship at Ajax, resulting in him earning a £35million move to Old Trafford in September 2020. He underwhelmed in his first two seasons in M16, failing to hit the high notes over the course of 50 appearances.

As a result, he was shipped out on loan in January 2022 to Everton, where he made a paltry seven appearances. The appointment of Ten Hag a few months later was meant to rekindle Van de Beek's career.

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But almost two years to the day since Ten Hag's appointment, Van de Beek has featured just 12 times for United and finds himself out on loan at German club Eintracht Frankfurt. The midfielder, who will turn 27 next week, joined the Bundesliga club in January after being restricted to just two substitute appearances for United in the first half of this campaign.

The loan deal features an option for Frankfurt to sign him permanently for €11million (£9.55m), plus €3m (£2.6m) in add-ons this summer. However he has played just six times for the Bundesliga outfit so far so it would suggest they are highly unlikely to take up that opportunity.

Having played just 18 times for United and Frankfurt combined since the start of last season, Van de Beek's career has hit the buffers. He is stuck in a rut he cannot get out of and remains contracted to United until June 2025 with the option of an additional 12 months.

United are going to have to find a route to try and offload Van de Beek this