Erik ten Hag offers views on Donny van de Beek's struggles at Manchester United

Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has said that injuries played a major role in Donny van de Beek finding it difficult to make his mark for the club.

The 26-year-old scored 41 goals and registered 34 assists in 175 appearances for Ajax's first team between 2015 and 2020 before making the move to Old Trafford.

Van de Beek struggled at Old Trafford, though, only managing two goals and two assists in 62 appearances, and he left the club earlier this month to join Eintracht Frankfurt on loan.

The Netherlands international will spend the rest of the campaign with Frankfurt, and it is understood that the German outfit have the option to sign him permanently for £9.5m this summer.

Van de Beek only played 21 minutes of football for Man United this season before heading out on loan, despite the fact that he has been available since returning from a serious knee injury over the summer.

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Ten Hag has said that injury issues made it difficult for the Dutchman to show the type of form that made him one of the most in-demand midfielders in European football during his time at Ajax.

"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," Ten Hag told reporters during his press conference ahead of Monday night's FA Cup third-round contest with Wigan Athletic.

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

"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.

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"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."

Ten Hag also played down suggestions that talented youngsters could be put off coming to Man United due to the struggles that some have had at the club.

"That is always on the players and what [kind of] confidence you have. Your capabilities. I can tell you one thing and that is that the Premier League is tough and at Man United it is tough to play here, because in every other team it is easier to play there because there is less pressure," he added.

"It is so high and you have to deal with that. But if you have confidence in yourself, then I think this is the best challenge. Definitely it is the best club you want to be at and that depends from player to player, it is also about the character. The personality of the player."

As part of the loan arrangement, Frankfurt are believed to be paying the majority of Van de Beek's £120,000-a-week salary at Old Trafford.