Rather worryingly, it has only taken the local press a couple of months – and just six games – to ask the sort of questions we all posed after watching Manchester United’s £34 million man in action.
Is the midfielder a line-breaking number ten, a box-crashing number eight, or a tempo-setting number six? He certainly had a reputation as all three when he joined the Premier League giants in the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era back in 2020.
Four years on, however, we are none the wiser about what exactly Donny van de Beek brings to the table.
And it appears that those over in Germany have been left with similar questions after watching the Dutchman stumble through a loan spell that would make Wout Weghorst’s at Manchester United look like a roaring success.
Donny van de Beek’s Bundesliga disaster
The Dutch international is yet to either score or assist a goal since joining Eintracht Frankfurt on loan in January. He’s only started twice since being hauled off at half-time vs Mainz – his punishment for managing just five passes in the entire first ‘45 minutes – and has now spent the last three Bundesliga matches on the bench.
In fact, the last time Van de Beek featured for Frankfurt – exactly a month ago today – Kobbie Mainoo didn’t even have an England cap to his name. Now, the teenager who forced Van de Beek even further down the Man United pecking order, has two, plus a Wembley Man of the Match award to boot.
“What does Donny van de Beek actually do?,” asks the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. “(The fans) haven’t heard or seen anything for a long time from the Dutchman who, in football terms, was supposed to bring the stars out of the sky for Frankfurt.”
Speaking of stars, Van de Beek’s has certainly fallen since firing Erik ten Hag’s Ajax to within 90 minutes of the Champions League final in 2019.
“Nothing came of it (from his early appearances for Frankfurt),” FAZ reporter Ralf Weitbrecht adds. “A few appearances for Eintracht – that’s it so far. In the last three Bundesliga games, the midfielder, who turned 27 in mid-April, has not (got on the pitch) at all.”
Manchester United to miss out on £13m windfall
It should now come as no surprise to anyone that, per German publication Fussball News, Man United are not exactly holding their breath as Frankfurt mull over whether the trigger the £13 million option-to-buy clause in his contract.
The Red Devils may have hoped they had seen the last of Donny Van de Beek when he moved to the Bundesliga just after Christmas. Now, it would be a surprise if he, Jadon Sancho, Alvaro Fernandez, Facundo Pellistri and Jadon Sancho did not end up returning to Manchester at the end of the current campaign.
“We had the opportunity to borrow Donny for six months. He delivered sensational performances at Ajax,” Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoller tells Sport BILD.
“There is hope that he can build on the old times here. We couldn’t and didn’t want to miss this opportunity. (But) the others, like Ellyes Skhiri and Hugo Larsson, are currently ahead of him (in the pecking order).
“But he can always change this decision through performance in training. And he’s willing to do that.”
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