It seems like Donny van de Beek's time at Old Trafford is reportedly about to be put on hold for the time being, with Manchester United looking to loan out the midfielder before the deadline on 31st January.
The MEN Sport understands that three clubs have had terms accepted for Van de Beek, including Crystal Palace, another Premier League team and an unknown overseas team. Fabrizio Romano is also reporting that Everton are also interested in bringing the Dutchman to Goodison Park once they confirm the appointment of their new manager.
The clubs will have to pay all of his wages plus a small fee, but the real benefit for United is that the player will get a chance to reignite his stalling career before the next permanent manager comes through the door.
So let's look at three things that will definitely happen if Van de Beek completes his loan move this January:
He will score on his debut
In just on the cards, isn't it. Underused by both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, despite the former struggling for goals and results, Van de Beek makes his first appearance and scores, a dream start for the Dutchman.
What will follow is the obvious 'why did we send him on loan shouts' and mockery of both Solskjaer and Rangnick, and probably the icing on the cake of the narrative would be if United lost that weekend as well (hopefully they don't).
If he's scoring goals and being impactful, that can only be a net positive for United and precisely what the club want him to do. Either Crystal Palace or Everton will likely play him in a more advanced position in their midfield, which Burno Fernandes currently occupies. Therefore, it would be unlikely that the Dutchman would get a similar amount of game time if he remained at Old Trafford.
United fans will still sing his name
It became a recurring theme that Van de Beek's chant would ring out from the Stretford End towards the end of Solskjaer's tenure when things were going wrong.
It was partly due to the limited minutes that the Dutchman was receiving and that United were lacking creativity on the pitch. Many wanted to see him come on a substitute or even start in place of Fred or Scott McTominay.
Under Rangnick, this has subsided somewhat due to Fred and McTominay being pivotal to the German's tactical approach, but he has got a verse or two every time he ventures near the Stretford End while doing his warm-ups.
United fans do love a bit of irony. If things start going wrong or United are struggling to score, expect to hear 'Donny van de Beek' ringing out to the tune of Give it Up by KC and the Sunshine Band at some point this season.
He'll still be on the bench when he returns to Old Trafford
Van de Beek is just not as good as Fernandes, so even if he does impress out on loan and is in the manager's plans going forward, it will likely only be as a rotation option for the Portuguese midfielder.
That is not a bad thing.
Much of Van de Beek's issues have come from him hardly being given a chance to play at all, rather than believing he should be the number one option at the club. Hopefully, when he comes back to Old Trafford, he can play a more prominent role than what he has been given so far.
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