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Donny van de Beek looks set to return to Manchester United with Eintracht Frankfurt unwilling to sign him, talkSPORT understands.

Van de Beek joined German side Eintracht Frankfurt in January with an option to buy worth £9.5million, but it has proved unsuccessful.

Van de Beek looks set to return to United after a disappointing spell at Frankfurt
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Van de Beek looks set to return to United after a disappointing spell at FrankfurtCredit: Getty

talkSPORT understands that Frankfurt are unwilling to trigger the buy option, which will see Van de Beek return to United at the end of the season.

The Dutchman doesn't appear to have a future at Old Trafford having already been excluded from the squad by Erik ten Hag, who was his manager at Ajax from 2017-2020.

The midfielder has made just seven appearances since signing for Frankfurt and has been largely on the bench throughout his time at the club.

He was also left out of the club's Europa Conference League squad earlier this season in a brutal blow to his hopes of staying past the summer.

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Van de Beek signed for United in 2020 in a deal rising to £40m when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge and had been tipped for success as one of Ajax's rising stars.

However, the Netherlands international struggled for consistency and was largely left on the sidelines even when the Red Devils had trouble in midfield.

Van de Beek managed 36 appearances in all competitions in his debut season, but his outings often came from the bench.

And that has been as good as it got for the Dutchman, who has played just 26 games since in three seasons.

Frankfurt will not trigger the £9.5m option to sign Van de Beek permanently
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Frankfurt will not trigger the £9.5m option to sign Van de Beek permanentlyCredit: Getty
Van de Beek has played just two minutes of Premier League action this season
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Van de Beek has played just two minutes of Premier League action this seasonCredit: Getty

There was also a short stint on loan at Everton, joining them in January 2022 where he played just seven games and scored once.

Before joining Frankfurt, Van de Beek was afforded only two minutes in the Premier League by Ten Hag.

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The United coach also left him out of his Champions League squad despite being the manager that helped make him a star at Ajax.

When Ten Hag joined Ajax in 2017, it was he who brought Van de Beek truly into the first-team fold and built a midfield around him as his attacking star.

It saw him score 40 goals in three years, but the two have failed to repeat their success together at United.

Van de Beek is now set to eye a new home in the summer after already being told he could leave last year.

A last-minute loan to Ligue 1 side Lorient last year fell through when the French outfit pulled out of a deal, leaving him in limbo.

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