Donny van de Beek 'to return to Manchester United this summer'

Amid his repeated failures to force his way into the Red Devils' plans, the former Ajax starlet joined the 2021-22 Europa League champions for the remainder of the season in January.

Van de Beek has made five Bundesliga appearances for Frankfurt since arriving in Germany - starting four of those games - but he is without a goal or assist and is yet to complete the full 90 minutes in the top flight.

The latest that Van de Beek has lasted in a Frankfurt game was against Wolfsburg on February 25, where he was substituted in the 67th minute, and he was left on the bench for last weekend's beating of Heidenheim.

In addition, the Netherlands international was omitted from Frankfurt's squad for the Champions League group stages, as Die Adler lost 3-2 on aggregate to Union SG in the knockout round playoffs.

Frankfurt negotiated a £12.5m option to buy in Van de Beek's loan agreement with Man United, but owing to his continued struggles, The Mirror claims that the German side currently do not plan on taking up that option.

The door is not completely closed on Van de Beek staying in the Bundesliga, as the 26-year-old still has a couple of months to prove his worth to manager Dino Toppmoller, but he will be heading back to Old Trafford as things stand.

Van de Beek's agreement with Erik ten Hag's side runs until the summer of 2025, and there was hope that he could reignite his Red Devils career under the Dutchman following their successful stint together at Ajax.

The midfielder helped the Amsterdam giants reach the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League under his compatriot, but after already failing to win over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, his fortunes have not improved when Ten Hag in charge of the reins.

As a result, Man United intend to part ways with Van de Beek permanently this summer before they lose him on a free in 2025, and the report adds that a return to the Eredivisie is his most likely escape route.

The Red Devils forked out £33.2m to add Van de Beek to their ranks in the summer of 2020, but the Dutchman has only managed two goals and two assists in 62 games for the club in all competitions.

The majority of Van de Beek's appearances in a Man United jersey have come from the bench, though, and he has started just 11 games in the Premier League, including his underwhelming loan spell with Everton in the second half of the 2021-22 season.

The ex-Ajax man could be one of a handful of Man United midfielders searching for a new stomping ground this summer, as the futures of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen - both of whom have dropped off performance-wise this year - are up in the air.

The former will likely be the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, while Eriksen was reportedly wanted by Galatasaray over the winter and is also due to become a free agent in 2025, as is Scott McTominay.

In addition, Sofyan Amrabat's loan from Fiorentina is not expected to be converted into a permanent move due to the Moroccan's struggles to adapt to Premier League football.