Donny van de Beek speaks on lack of game time & his Man Utd future

Donny van de Beek has admitted he is prepared to keep fighting to earn his place in the Manchester United team - and that he remains in the plans of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Van de Beek was signed in summer 2020 from Ajax, and was initially thought to be ready to play a big role in the United side - though that's not how it has turned out. He is yet to feature for United in a competitive fixture this season and recently missed out on the Dutch national squad as a result.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's YouTube channel FIVE, the Dutchman directly addressed his continued absence from the United team, but he is keeping confident that his moment will come.

"The start was good - in my first game I scored and I think I did well," he said.

"But after that it's difficult, if you're not really in the team and you wait for your chance. It's not easy if you're not playing - not for your confidence and everything. It's normal that you need to have time to adapt but of course you're not happy. I want to play, that's clear.

"It's hard [to deal with]. I train really hard every day, I try to improve and just wait for my chance - that's the only thing I can do. If the moment is there I have to be ready."

Van de Beek was also linked with a move away from Old Trafford in the final few days of the transfer window, with Everton interested, but Van de Beek revealed Solskjaer stated his wish to keep him for the season.

Asked if leaving was ever close to happening, he said: "No. I spoke with the manager and the club, and they were clear they want me to stay here.

"The manager was really positive about me and he said 'I need you and want to keep you here - what I see now is a different Donny', and he was really positive about me. I'm feeling well, I'm in good shape and I hope that I can show the people that I've improved a lot now.

"He sees a big difference, that I'm a little bit stronger now. He can see that I now have one year's experience here in England. If he sees me now and in the beginning, he sees a big difference.

"I need to trust him. If he doesn't need me, I think he will let me go. I think he has plans with me. I just need to work hard and I hope I can show the people, one day, what I can do.

"This is football and I think you can never promise a player if he will play - or not. You can train every day hard, but in the end you need game time to show your best shape. If you play once in a month or anything, you cannot show your best."