Donny van de Beek to seek assurances on Man Utd future
By Tom Gott
Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek will seek crunch talks with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over his continued lack of minutes.
The £35m man started just four Premier League games last season and has managed a grand total of 141 minutes in all competitions this year - fewer than his total at this point in the previous season.
His latest snub came in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Villarreal, in which he was left on the bench despite United looking for a go-ahead goal for the best past of 94 minutes, and he was seen flinging his chewing gum on the floor in anger after watching Fred be introduced instead of him.
Van de Beek is concerned about losing his spot in the Netherlands national team, and according to The Telegraph, he is ready to meet with Solskjaer to get to the bottom of his lack of minutes.
He had the chance to leave Old Trafford in the summer but United refused to entertain the idea, instead insisting that Van de Beek would see his fair share of minutes this year, but things clearly haven't worked out that way just yet.
That promise has resulted in just six Premier League minutes in as many games, all of which came at the end of the 4-1 win over Newcastle United. Elsewhere, there were 45 minutes in the first half of the loss to Young Boys and a full 90 in the Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham United.
Unfortunately for Van de Beek, his future is completely in United's hands. The Dutchman is still under contract until 2025 and has an option for a 12-month extension as well, so United will be in no rush to offload him.
Van de Beek finds himself in a similar slump to fellow midfielder Jesse Lingard, who is believed to be unhappy with his own lack of playing time this year.
Lingard has made twice as many appearances as Van de Beek but is currently sitting on five minutes fewer, having started just once in all competitions.
Should Lingard allow his contract to expire at the end of the season, then Van de Beek would move up slightly in the pecking order at Old Trafford, but Solskjaer has work to do to convince the Dutchman that he should stick around.