Erik ten Hag has urged Donny van de Beek to ensure he is in a position to start staking a claim for regular football following his recent injury woes.
Van De Beek flourished under Ten Hag at Ajax before he was lured to Manchester United by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a £40million deal back in 2020. But the 25-year-old has floundered at Old Trafford and started just two Premier League matches since quitting Amsterdam.
It was expected that Ten Hag would hand a lifeline to Van De Beek following his appointment in the summer, but the playmaker has featured for just 19 minutes this term.
Reports earlier this week suggested that Van De Beek, who is currently sidelined with a muscle injury, is still frustrated with his position at the club amid renewed interest from potential suitors.
In the wake of those reports, Ten Hag has once again stressed that his former Ajax favourite will get chances to stake a claim - but it is down to Van De Beek to ensure he is fit and ready to take advantage of them after it was confirmed he will miss this weekend's trip to Everton.
"He had a muscle injury," Ten Hag explained on Friday. "So it takes a couple of weeks. He's now back on the training grass, so he's outside doing his work but still individual, he's not returning to team training. So we have to wait for that moment.
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"He has to be fit. Obviously, that is his disadvantage. He is now for two-and-a-half years here. He had a pre-season that was quite okay and his chances will come.
"When he came on against Brighton as a sub he did very well but you have to be available. And if you are not available you cannot get a place in the first XI and so now he has to make sure he gets fit and fights for his position."
Ten Hag's message is eerily similar to the one he gave Van De Beek earlier in the summer, where he insisted that the midfielder's destiny was in his own hands.
Van De Beek was one of Ajax's most influential players during Ten Hag's time at the helm and was the driving force behind the Dutch club's remarkable run to the Champions League semi-finals in the 2018/19 campaign.
But Ten Hag made it clear that his presence alone would not simply guarantee an immediate reprieve for Van De Beek. Speaking during the club's pre-season tour, Ten Hag said of the midfielder: "It's the same for every player; he has to do it by himself. Me as manager and the coaching staff around him can do everything to set the right conditions so he can perform, but in the end, the player has to do it himself.
"They have to take responsibility for their performance. Donny has the capability and I have seen it [when at Ajax], but he has to prove himself."
