Manchester United has opted to loan midfielder Donny van de Beek to Eintracht Frankfurt for the rest of the 2023-2024 season, with a purchase option.

Frankfurt will pay a nominal loan fee and cover the majority of Van de Beek’s salaries during his tenure at the club as part of the loan deal. When the loan time ends, the German club will have the option to buy the 27-year-old midfielder from Manchester United for $12 million. Furthermore, if Van de Beek meets specific performance targets while at Frankfurt, Manchester United will receive an extra $3.3 million.

In the summer of 2020, Manchester United paid more than $50 million to recruit Van de Beek from Ajax. The midfielder was instrumental in guiding the Dutch team to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019. Van van Beek has struggled to make an impression at Manchester United while earning almost $7.6 million per year, appearing in only 62 games and scoring two goals. His time with the club was regarded as a failure. Van de Beek has only played 21 minutes this season across all competitions and is not preferred by his former Ajax coach, Erik ten Hag, at Old Trafford.

Van van Beek is the first player to depart Manchester United in 2024, just as the transfer market opens. Other players are still on loan for the team, with 23-year-old attacker Mason Greenwood at Getafe standing out. Greenwood has slowly regained his form, scoring five goals in 15 games in Spain.

Despite the departure of Van van Beek, Manchester United is unlikely to recruit any new players in January 2024 due to financial fair play difficulties. This has also influenced the club’s decision not to exercise defender Raphael Varane’s contract extension provision. As a result, the French center-back is free to leave the club at the conclusion of the season and can begin talks with other clubs immediately.