Donny van de Beek’s stint at Manchester United was ruined by injuries, according to Erik ten Hag, and his experience should not deter other players from joining the club.

Van de Beek, 26, has joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan until the end of the season after failing to establish himself at United under three different managers since signing from Ajax in the summer of 2020: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, and Ten Hag.

The £35 million midfielder made only 23 games over his three and a half years at Old Trafford, and had already spent time on loan when he joined Everton for the second part of the 2021-22 season, where he was again hindered by injuries.

Ten Hag previously worked with Van de Beek at Ajax, but hopes that a reunion in Manchester would help the midfielder’s prospects were dashed.

“For starters, he’s had a lot of injuries,” Ten Hag explained. “He wasn’t the player he was at Ajax from the moment I arrived here at Manchester United because he was injured.” He was unavailable so many times, and then he struggled for a long period to recover from that injury.

“That was most likely the main reason he wasn’t playing.” We decided on a loan during the summer, but it did not materialize, and his prospects are limited because we also make appointments and agreements with players and contract players in that position. “The competition was fierce.”

Van de Beek is one of a number of players who have joined United in high-profile moves in recent seasons but have failed to live up to expectations, with £72 million winger Jadon Sancho also on the verge of leaving on loan during this transfer window following a public spat with Ten Hag.

When asked if others might be scared of moving to Old Trafford because of Van de Beek’s experience, Ten Hag disagreed.

“That is always on those players and how much confidence you have in your capabilities,” he went on to say. “However, I can tell you one thing: the Premier League is difficult.” Man United, it’s difficult to play there because it’s easier to play in virtually any other team than Man United since the pressure is always so high.

“You must deal with it. But if you believe in yourself, this is the best challenge, and this is without a doubt the best club to play for. It varies from player to player, and it is highly dependent on the character and personality of the player.”

Ten Hag will lead his United team to Wigan in the FA Cup third round on Monday night.

Andre Onana will be in the team and should be available to face Tottenham next weekend before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations late.

However, Altay Bayindir, Onana’s backup goalkeeper, is yet to make his debut following a summer transfer from Fenerbahce, and the trip to the DW Stadium could be an opportunity to give the Turkey goalkeeper a taste of first-team action before he is needed more frequently.

Despite the decision not to employ Bayindir in the Carabao Cup before Christmas, Ten Hag said he had faith in all of his goalkeepers.

“At some point, Andre will go,” he said. “We are completely satisfied, and we built this group of keepers because we are at ease with it.” We have faith in both of them, and they are both excellent goalkeepers with extensive experience at the highest levels.

“I believe we can have a lot of confidence that we have coverage, but not just coverage, but competition between two or three.” We are certain that if Andre must leave, we will be fine since we are in a good situation and have a solid substitute to fill that gap.”