Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek could be set for a January exit after finding opportunities hard to come by during his time at the club.

What's the story?

The 24-year-old has been linked with an Old Trafford departure for several months, with the likes of Everton, Newcastle United and Wolves all credited with an interest in his services.

And now, well-known journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Van de Beek's future, stating he expects the creative talent to leave United over the coming months unless his current situation changes.

Popular Twitter page UtdReport relayed his comments, tweeting: "Fabrizio Romano: 'As things stand now, in November, if the situation continues with Solskjær as manager, not trusting or playing Donny van de Beek, I expect Van de Beek to leave the club in January.'"

Man Utd fans will be worried

The Netherlands international arrived at United in the summer of 2020 via a £40m move from boyhood club Ajax but has been unable to break into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side on a regular basis.

In his maiden campaign on English shores, Van de Beek started just 15 games in all competitions for the Red Devils, with only four of those outings coming in the Premier League.

His bit-part role under Solskjaer led to heavy speculation that he could seek pastures new last summer after only 12 months at the club, and Everton reportedly came close to securing his signature.

Marcel Brands, the Toffees director of football, openly admitted that the creative talent was on his list of potential targets before the deal collapsed.

“We had him on our list. At the beginning of the transfer window, we enquired at United, then it was impossible,” he told Dutch outlet NOS.

“At the end of the window, I received a call from Guido Albers, his agent, that he might be rented out after all. But at the last minute, it was cancelled. Stopped again.”

Since then, Van de Beek has only been awarded 154 minutes of action in all competitions in 2021/22 as he's been forced to watch on from the sidelines and changed agents in an attempt to end his United nightmare.

And news that the engine room operator is set to depart Old Trafford will leave large sections of the club's supporters worried, despite his limited impact.

With Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata all in the final year of their contracts, United could be desperately sort of attacking midfielders next season, and Van de Beek's exit would only add to their woes.

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