Villarreal to make move for Manchester United's Donny van de Beek in 2024?

The 26-year-old rose to prominence under Erik ten Hag at Ajax and was the subject of a £34m move to Old Trafford in 2020, but he has failed to live up to expectations in England.

Over the past three years, Van de Beek has only played 60 times for the Red Devils in all tournaments, with the majority of those appearances coming from the bench, and he has a mere two goals and two assists to show for his efforts.

Injuries have also plagued Van de Beek, who made just seven appearances for Everton in the second half of the 2021-22 season during a disappointing loan spell, and a reunion with Ten Hag has not led to a revival either.

Van de Beek enjoyed a bright pre-season this summer, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win against Lyon and providing two assists in a 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund, offering some hope that he could belatedly ignite his Old Trafford career.

However, the Netherlands international did not make a Premier League squad in 2023-24 until Saturday's 1-0 win over Burnley, where he was an unused substitute amid the Red Devils' injury crisis.

A summer exit did not materialise for Van de Beek, who was thought to have been a target for Ligue 1 outfit Lorient, only to turn his nose up to a switch to Les Merlus, while links with Turkey and Qatar also led to nowhere.

As a last resort, Man United apparently tried to offload Van de Beek to Anderlecht, but the Belgian side rejected the chance to sign the midfielder, who has just under two years remaining on his Red Devils contract with an option of an additional 12 months.

Van de Beek will likely be in the shop window again in 2024, and according to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Villarreal have identified him as an ideal target for the 2024-25 campaign.

The Yellow Submarine have apparently been keeping a close eye on Van de Beek's situation for a while, although their interest is at its earliest stages, and there is no guarantee that a deal can be done.

Unless a January transfer comes to fruition, next summer could be Man United's last chance to recoup a small portion of the fee they paid for Van de Beek three years ago, although they can trigger his contract option until 2026 to protect his value.

Barring an unforeseen turnaround in fortunes, the Red Devils would have no qualms with letting the ex-Ajax man depart in 2024, even if they are forced to take a significant hit on their £34m investment.

For Van de Beek, a departure in January would give the midfielder the best possible chance of forcing his way back into the Netherlands squad for Euro 2024, having not been called up for his country since June 2021.

With Mason Mount joining permanently from Chelsea and Sofyan Amrabat completing a deadline-day loan move to Man United from Fiorentina, the Red Devils allowed all of Fred, Zidane Iqbal, Ethan Galbraith and Charlie Savage to leave over the summer.

Scott McTominay remained at the club in spite of interest from several clubs in England and abroad, but Man United are supposedly open to selling the Bayern Munich-linked Scotsman in January.