Of all the transfers Manchester United have made over the past two to three years, few have been as disappointing as the arrival of Donny van de Beek.
The Dutch midfielder was bought after some excellent seasons at Ajax Amsterdam, and while it didn’t go well initially, there was hope the appointment of Erik ten Hag as manager could rectify that.
This hasn’t been the case, though, far from it, and a sale is expected in the near future, with Bild reporting that Eintracht Frankfurt are interested in the Manchester United flop.
They immediately make it clear that the Bundesliga side ‘want to grab’ the 26-year-old in the January transfer window in what appears to be a loan.
Their information suggests ‘talks are going well’, but there is something of a ‘sticking point’, which is the wages issue.
Earning €7m/year, that would make him ‘by far the top earner’ in the German side, and it’s seen as ‘impossible’ for Eintracht to break their wage structure for the Manchester United player.
Therefore, there will be a need for the Red Devils to ‘pay part of his salary and make concessions’, or simply for Van de Beek to ‘give up money’ in order to play football.
Considering how badly he wants to leave and how little Manchester United are using him, common ground should eventually be found, though, and we will be keeping an eye on any developments emerging out of Germany.