Donny van de Beek has certainly not had the impact at Manchester United that he had intended. Since making the move from Ajax in 2020, the creative midfielder has made just as many Premier League starts during a 2021-22 loan move to Everton as he has at the Old Trafford club. His time with the 12-time FA Cup winners may soon be coming to an end.
That is because van de Beek is attracting interest from elsewhere this summer, most notably from Real Sociedad. The La Liga side have opened discussions with Man Utd over a deal, according to The Daily Mail, and allowing the Dutchman to move on would help fund the £72million acquisition of Atalanta forward Rasmus Højlund and Sofyan Ambrabat of Fiorentina.
With the club looking to add players to the roster, boss Erik ten Hag is having to cut his cloth accordingly and is prepared to allow certain squad players to move on. He has been unable to get a tune out of van de Beek, somewhat slightly surprisingly, whilst Fred and Brandon Williams are others closing in on departures from the football club.
The 26-year-old has been involved with United during pre-season, and netted the only goal in last month's friendly victory against Lyon in Edinburgh. He also played his part in the tour of United States, but it would seem those clashes are set to be his final appearances in the famous Red Devils jersey.
One big question surrounding the van de Beek deal is exactly how much Real Sociedad will have to pay to lure the player to the club. They themselves have a big void to fill in their midfield after the sudden retirement of David Silva, who suffered a serious injury during pre-season. Replacing him won't be easy, but van de Beek may represent a relatively cheap option all thing considered.
Donny van de Beek: How much is he worth?
Man Utd value the player at £25million, and that is the price set upon him. The two clubs have been holding talks, and within those discussions the Premier League club have been firm in their valuation. Should this be the case, they will be making a loss on the initial £35million plus add-on's they paid Ajax to buy him a few years ago.
With ten Hag happy to let the player go, it would be very likely that van de Beek would be open to making this move. Whilst in an ideal world he would be playing regularly with Man Utd, the reality is that he has struggled for game time their for some time. A fresh start may be required, and moving to Spain would provide him with that, and also European football.
Injuries certainly haven't helped his cause, but that likely would propel his desire to seek out a new challenge. The La Liga side are said to have worries about the injury record of van de Beek, but the fact they have entered talks over signing suggests there is a desire to make something happen. They'll certainly do their homework, as replacing a retired Silva with an injury prone player is not something they want.
The Premier League season gets up a running in over a week's time and Man Utd will begin their campaign at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 14th. You can check out all of their key fixture dates by clicking here.
