Dutchman snubs transfer after Man Utd ‘agreement’, while midfielder ‘now plans to stay’
Manchester United are still struggling to offload Donny van de Beek this summer with the midfielder not keen on a move to Lorient, according to reports.
The Red Devils are looking to offload a number of players before the transfer deadline as they look to make room in their budget for new additions.
Van de Beek is one of those players who is likely to leave before the window closes on Friday after a nightmare time at Old Trafford since joining from Ajax for £40m in 2020.
The Dutchman has made just six Premier League starts in three seasons for Man Utd with injuries not helping his situation at the club.
It was expected to get better at Old Trafford last term, following a loan spell at Everton in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, but even Erik ten Hag – who was also his manager at Ajax – left him out of the starting XI for most of the campaign.
And now there are apparently a number of options on the table for Van de Beek but the main concrete one is thought to come from Ligue 1 side Lorient.
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A report yesterday insisted that Man Utd have reached an agreement with Lorient over a season-long loan deal for Van de Beek.
However, French newspaper Le Parisien insists that Van de Beek ‘would not be keen on the idea of joining’ the Ligue 1 club from Man Utd this summer.
The 26-year-old is understood to be ‘awaiting other options’ and now Lorient could turn to former Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko instead.
Another player who hasn’t found a route out of Man Utd this summer is Hannibal, who spent last season on a successful loan spell at Championship side Birmingham City.
Hannibal got one goal and five assists in 38 appearances for the Blues and has been attracting interest from Sevilla, Anderlecht and a number of English sides.
But the Daily Mirror claim that the Tunisia international is ‘leaning towards staying’ at Old Trafford ‘despite strong transfer interest from clubs abroad and in the Premier League’.
It is understood that the 20-year-old ‘now planning to stay at Old Trafford to fight for a place in Erik ten Hag’s team following a fresh round of talks with the Manchester United manager’.
The report added:
‘Ten Hag sees the Tunisian international as a player who can make an impact in the first-team this season and, as such, is eager for the midfielder to stay and develop at the club rather than heading off elsewhere.
‘There has been uncertainty over Hannibal’s future throughout the summer with the club delaying a decision over whether or not to make him available on the market.
‘Even up until late this week the situation was unresolved; the framework for a loan deal with an option to join Sevilla had been fleshed out between the two clubs, with the LaLiga outfit desperate to sign the midfielder. Hannibal was also open to making the move after being kept waiting for clarity over his future.’
