Donny van de Beek is heavily reported to head out on loan in the January window after struggling for game time at Manchester United since his move to Old Trafford 18 months ago.
Signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it quickly became apparent that Van de Beek was not a first-team starter, but from the second season onwards, it seemed like the Dutchman wasn't in the manager's plans at all.
Ralf Rangnick has seemingly given him a chance for redemption with a six-month loan away from the club. The MEN Sport understands that Crystal Palace, another Premier League club and an unknown overseas club have all agreed on terms with United, which would see them pay all of Van de Beeks wages and a loan fee.
No option to buy has been included, but what does that mean?
Does it mean that United see them in their plans, or are they looking to increase his value before cashing in on him in the summer if he is not in the new manager's plans after Rangnick?
Crystal Palace would present an exciting opportunity for Van de Beek. Under Patrick Vieira, the London club has implemented a good brand of attacking football and pressing. It has been so effective it finds them 13th in the table, but with the rare scalp of Manchester City under their belts, who they beat 2-1 earlier in the summer.
Conor Gallagher has flourished while on loan with Palace, so could we see a similar upturn in Van de Beek's fortunes. Vieira would have to change his tactics, most likely playing the young Chelsea loanee deeper, allowing the Dutchman to play in the 10.
Behind the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Christian Benteke, who are effective at holding the ball up, Van de Beek could offer a different dimension in attack as a secondary runner, getting in the box and offering a passing option who can also score.
If he was loaned to Palace, it would seem like the club understand that Van de Beek's development is stalling at Old Trafford and that he needs game time at a team that plays a good brand of football to rectify this.
Six months is a long time in football, especially in a World Cup year, but if Van de Beek sees a resurgence while out on loan at Palace or one of the other two clubs who have had an offer accepted, will he want to come back to United?
The Dutchman was dropped from Louis van Gaal's national team squad after his lack of playing time for United, and under Rangnick, it didn't seem to be improving. It is hard to break into the United starting eleven ahead of Bruno Fernandes.
Overall, any move is a net positive for Van de Beek, he gets time to prove himself in the league and the regular game time he craves, and then he can return to Old Trafford as the new manager comes through the door. If he's still not needed then, he will have hopefully have raised his profile enough that United can recoup so of the £35m they spent on him in 2020.
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