Everton made a loan move for Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek on deadline day, but saw the potential deal blocked.
That’s according to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, who claim that Van de Beek had his sights set on a move to Goodison Park.
New Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal has told Van de Beek that he needed a loan move to get playing again, with first-team football hard to come by at United.
The report suggests that United were open to a deal because they have signed Cristiano Ronaldo, which means Paul Pogba is likely to play more as a midfielder again.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer kiboshed the Everton move, ruling out any loan exit for Van de Beek – and so he’s staying put.
Van de Beek, 24, hasn’t played a minute of Premier League action this season and only made four league starts in the whole of last season.
A £40million signing from Ajax last summer, Van de Beek was a creative, goalscoring midfielder at Ajax who looked destined for big things.
A year into his United career, and everybody is still waiting for him to really take off and become a key man under Solskjaer, which is why Everton tried their luck.
Branded ‘quality’ by Bruno Fernandes, Van de Beek must now look to somehow break into the United side – but don’t rule out Everton having another look in January if the Dutchman continues to be left out by Solskjaer.
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