Manchester United face the club they have loaned Donny van de Beek to – Everton – at Goodison Park this weekend.
It is fair to say that the loan spell is not working out as planned.
The Toffees are now embroiled in a relegation battle and van de Beek has not played in the past three games.
So can van de Beek feature for Everton in this Saturday’s fixture? The answer is no, and there are actually two reasons why.
United don’t want him to
As per rules of loan agreements, the club loaning out the player have the right to stipulate that said player cannot play against them.
In the Premier League it is standard practice, and van de Beek will not be eligible to feature in the game at Goodison Park.
He is injured anyway
Even if United were open to allowing van de Beek to feature in this game, he is injured anyway.
Frank Lampard said before his side’s clash with Burnley, as per club media: “Donny won’t be fit. It’s a small grade thigh injury, which will make him fit [for the match against Leicester City].
“He [is ineligible] to play against Manchester United at the weekend anyway.”
There may be better times ahead for van de Beek, with widespread reports that his former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag is set to be United’s new boss.
There have been reports that he would want the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Ruben Neves brought in too, but van de Beek would hope to play a more prominent role under his countryman.
But before that, there is a real chance that he could return to United with a relegation on his CV.
Everton’s away form is dire, their run-in is tricky and they are just one point clear of the drop zone now.
They need to give their season a shot in the arm by beating United, but van de Beek will be reduced to a watching brief.
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