"He has had many injuries" - Erik ten Hag explains why Manchester United loanee struggled at the club 

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has suggested that persistent injury issues were among the main reasons behind Donny van de Beek's struggles at the club. The Dutch midfielder recently joined Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on loan.

Fans were buzzing when Van de Beek joined the Red Devils from Ajax for a reported £35 million fee in 2020. However, his appearances for the first team were sporadic and he spent a chunk of the time on the sidelines.

Van de Beek spent the second half of the 2021-22 season on loan at Everon and has now once again gone out on loan. There is also a £9.5 million buy clause in the contract if Frankfurt want to make the deal permanent.

Overall, Van de Beek made only 62 appearances for Manchester United, scoring two goals and providing two assists. Ten Hag opined that the Dutch midfielder wasn't the same player that he managed at Ajax. He said (via 90Min):

"He has had many injuries and that is first of all. I have now worked two years with him and before he worked under different managers here as well."

"He had another loan as well. From the moment I came here at Man Utd, he wasn't the player I had at Ajax because he was injured and so many times he was unavailable."

Ten Hag added:

"Then he struggled for a long time with recovering from that injury. So I think that is probably the main reason for why he wasn't playing. Then we decided on a loan in the summer and nothing came, then his opportunities were so few because also we made appointments and agreements with players and there was conflict in those positions, the competition was high.''

Van de Beek is yet to make his debut for Frankfurt since his loan move, which ends in the summer.

Donny van de Beek's extensive injury list at Manchester United

Donny van de Beek spent three spells on the sidelines after joining Manchester United in 2020. He missed 49 games in total and was out of action for a combined 278 days.

In his debut season at Old Trafford, Van de Beek missed four games with a muscle injury. In 2022, the Dutchman was out for 10 games due to a shingles infection. In 2023, he missed 35 games due to a knee collateral ligament strain.

During his short loan spell at Everton from Manchester United, Van de Beek missed eight games due to two different thigh injuries that sidelined him for a total of 36 days.