Donny van de Beek is ready to call time on his Manchester United career and move on in the upcoming transfer window.
The Dutch midfielder, 26, was signed from Ajax in a £35million deal by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back in 2020 but has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular at Old Trafford.
Van De Beek, who suffered a season-ending knee injury back in January, had been expected to play a more prominent role for the Red Devils this season following the appointment of Erik ten Hag: the same coach who utilised him heavily at Ajax. However, the Netherlands international has still been a peripheral figure and has now decided to move on.
That's according to a fresh report from The Guardian, who claim that Van De Beek has 'accepted it's time to leave the club', who are pursuing a summer deal for Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount. The report goes on to add that Van De Beek expects to be fit for pre-season as he mulls over his next move.
While Van De Beek is now willing to move on, the midfielder has previously resisted the urge to seek regular football elsewhere. He did, however, push for a loan move to Everton last January.
Ten Hag is known to be in the market for an elite striker this summer, but his desire to acquire a dynamic No.8 to reinvigorate his midfield has seemingly convinced Van De Beek that the time is now right to kickstart his career away from Old Trafford.
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Manchester United have already reached an agreement with Mount over personal terms and the next step to striking a deal is thrashing out a suitable fee with Chelsea. The Blues are unlikely to be accommodating, though - even though Mount is now inside the final year of his current contract and would be available to leave on a free next summer.
Van De Beek is unlikely to be the only fringe player to exit Old Trafford in the coming weeks, with a host of other players set to follow the former Ajax man out of the door.
It's already been confirmed that Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe will be leaving the club at the end of their contracts later this month, while Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Alex Telles, Eric Bailly and Brandon Williams are also expected to be sold ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Like Van De Beek, club captain Maguire has also openly expressed a desire to stay and fight for his place in the past. However, that stance could soften in the wake of Manchester United's links with Napoli centre-half Kim Min-jae.
