Struggling Manchester United talent Donny van de Beek has been warned he must "step up" or risk a permanent Old Trafford exit by boss Erik ten Hag.
The Netherlands international has seen his stock drastically decline after his move to Old Trafford in the summer of 2020 from Dutch champions Ajax, who were then managed by the current Red Devils manager. After more than a year-and-a-half of flatlining form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer then Ralf Rangnick, many had hoped Ten Hag would bring the best out of Van de Beek in United colours.
It hasn't materialised as many had hoped. After tireless efforts from two managers and a brief loan spell at Everton in January of this year, Van de Beek is now approaching last chance territory with Ten Hag stating another loan move does not make sense.
"I’ve seen him better in the past. But I think positioning-wise, he’s acting quite well. But he has to make that step up," Ten Hag said whilst discussing the Dutchman, who was left out of the Netherlands World Cup squad.
"I don’t think a loan [makes] sense. It’s either he fights [for] himself and proves himself, in this atmosphere in this environment, or he goes.
"But for me, there is still a way for him, there is still a perspective for him. It’s not going to be easy because the competition there is really strong."
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After finding first-team minutes hard to come by at the beginning of the campaign, Van de Beek was offered the opportunity to impress in both of United's last two outings. Both came against Aston Villa and the ex-Ajax star failed to make a major impact - but Ten Hag insists he saw positive signs in his play.
"Yeah, I see the opinion [that he might not suit England], but when I watched back the performance against Sociedad and at Villa, he is in the positions that I expect No.10s to do and nowadays that tends [to be] really difficult to show themselves," the United boss told reporters.
"What he [Van de Beek] is doing well is his positioning and his movements into space with strikers, especially with that No.9. That combination is really good, positioning and anticipation in and out of possession, and he did it to my satisfaction in the last games.
"I have seen he [Van de Beek] isn’t on the scoring list, he is not on the assisting list, and he can do better. I think he’s still not on his limits."
