Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, has defended Donny van de Beek’s performance at the club and said that playing for United is more difficult than playing for any other team.
Van de Beek, a 26-year-old midfielder from the Netherlands, has been loaned out to Eintracht Frankfurt after failing to impress at United since his £35m transfer from Ajax in September 2020.
Ten Hag blamed injuries for Van de Beek’s lack of form and said he was not the same player as he was at Ajax.
Van de Beek only started six games in the Premier League for United.
He also spent some time on loan at Everton in 2022 before coming back to United, but he suffered a serious knee injuryTen Hag: Man United is harder than any other team to play forTen Hag: Man United is harder than any other team to play forTen Hag: Man United is harder than any other team to play forTY that kept him out for the rest of the season.
Ten Hag believes that a change of scenery will help Van de Beek’s career and said: “He was injured when he arrived at Manchester United and he never recovered fully from that injury. That was probably the main reason why he did not play much. We wanted to loan him out in the summer but it did not happen and then he had few chances because we had other players in his position. The competition was high.”
Another player who might leave United is Jadon Sancho, who joined the club for £73m. United are trying to arrange a loan deal with Borussia Dortmund after Sancho had a public dispute with Ten Hag.
When asked if players would be afraid of joining United, Ten Hag said: “That depends on the players and how confident they are in their abilities. But I can tell you one thing – the Premier League is tough. Man United, that is tough to play for because it is easier to play for almost any other team than Man United because the pressure is always high.
“You have to cope with that. But if you believe in yourself, this is the best challenge and this is definitely the best club you want to be at as a player. It varies from player to player, and it especially depends on the character and personality of the player.”
United will play against Wigan in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday (20:15 GMT)..
