Donny van de Beek - Manchester United to Eintracht Frankfurt loan with an option to buy

[Michael]

Donny van de Beek who joined Manchester United from Ajax in the summer of 2020 for a transfer fee of £40 million, is set to move on loan to German club Eintracht Frankfurt. de Beek has reportedly accepted the move and it's now down to Frankfurt and United to wrap up the final details on the deal. Reports claim that United will be paying 60% of his wages while he is on loan at Frankfurt until the summer of 2024 and Frankfurt have an option to buy de Beek at the end of his loan spell for a transfer fee of only £13 million.

If this deal goes through, it looks like it could be a real coup for Frankfurt. As de Beek is a very experienced midfielder who was a key part of the Ajax side that found success in Europe several seasons ago. He reached the semi-finals of the Champions League with Ajax and the final of the Europa League with Ajax. He was also a member of the Man United team that reached the Europa League final in 2021. An experienced Dutch international and still only 26, de Beek looks like he could do a great job at Frankfurt.

Eintracht Frankfurt 'make breakthrough in Donny van de Beek pursuit' - Sports Mole

Edited December 16, 2023 by Michael

[Mel81x+]

Don't know what happened to him because I really liked him at Ajax and I thought with the current manager he'd find his feet again but it never really happened. I liked watching him play in that Ajax side so much I was a bit gutted we never went in for him because he was a superb box-to-box midfielder. I am sure he'll do well at Frankfurt, he just needs a different system and more playing time imo. 

[Michael]

On 15/12/2023 at 21:14, Mel81x said:

Don't know what happened to him because I really liked him at Ajax and I thought with the current manager he'd find his feet again but it never really happened. I liked watching him play in that Ajax side so much I was a bit gutted we never went in for him because he was a superb box-to-box midfielder. I am sure he'll do well at Frankfurt, he just needs a different system and more playing time imo. 

Well I think that his performances for Ajax and the Dutch national team demonstrated to us what a quality player he is. It just didn't work out for him at Man United, with injuries just being one of the factors that affected his time at United. But I think that Frankfurt have got themselves a class midfielder in van de Beek and the fact that they can buy him permanently for only £12.5 million at the end of the season, is an incredible deal for the German club.

If van de Beek can avoid injuries and get a run of games starting for Frankfurt, I am sure he will be able to showcase his quality talent. I think van de Beek will be a huge boost to the young Frankfurt midfield. Ebimbe and Larsson are really good young promising midfielders, but de Beek will add much more experience and some added quality to the midfield. van de Beek is an absolutely excellently signing for Frankfurt in my opinion.

[Devil]

He's lost outside of Ajax, he will be a disaster.

[Mel81x+]

10 hours ago, Devil said:

He's lost outside of Ajax, he will be a disaster.

Lets be honest here. He's been shit for you granted but I don't think that's just down to the player alone. How does a player go from playing so well to almost non-existent and lost in a midfield? I'd argue that he had some of the best of his generation in midfielders at Ajax who were able to compliment what he bought to the table. Contrast that with what he has to work with at his current club and you can see why he may not be optimally performing. I thought when the manager changed that he would become good again just based on history and knowing how to use him but that doesn't seem to be the case. I think he'll come good at Frankfurt but it will take time because he's been out of it for so long he's going to need to recalibrate. 

[Danny]

I liked him at Ajax. He’s been unlucky that the two clubs he’s played for since have been absolute shitshows, manager after manager. The first one brought him in and had no space in the team for him.

But I do agree with @Mel81x in that he probably done really well at Ajax in part due to the quality around him. He’s still fairly young and whilst he’ll probably not go onto become a world class midfielder, theres no reason why he can’t go and do what someone like Mkhitaryan has done since leaving England.

[Michael]

4 hours ago, Danny said:

I liked him at Ajax. He’s been unlucky that the two clubs he’s played for since have been absolute shitshows, manager after manager. The first one brought him in and had no space in the team for him.

But I do agree with @Mel81x in that he probably done really well at Ajax in part due to the quality around him. He’s still fairly young and whilst he’ll probably not go onto become a world class midfielder, theres no reason why he can’t go and do what someone like Mkhitaryan has done since leaving England.

Yes, you make some very key observations and so does @Mel81x. He has been unlucky with the managers he's had in England and they've not fit him into their teams like they should have. He clearly benefitted from the quality around him at Ajax, but he was also a class player when he played at Ajax. He has also invariably played very well for the Netherlands national team, where he has scored goals from midfield against the likes of Italy and Spain. I think that we do have to also remember that injuries have negatively affected his time in England. For example, he missed almost the entire 2022/23 season at Manchester United due to injury. 

I think that at Frankfurt, he can certainly get back to how he performed at Ajax. He will no doubt be a starter for them, given his experience. I believe that he will be able to showcase his skills once again and really perform well. Well it will be interesting to see how he is able to help Frankfurt after the winter break. They've needed an experienced midfieder like van de Beek for a while now and they are also on the hunt for a striker. van de Beek should do well at a club like Frankfurt.

[Tommy]