Some Manchester United players feel they have been ‘misled’ by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over promises of more game time this campaign.
Van de Beek, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Eric Bailly, Juan Mata, Diogo Dalot, Alex Telles and Dean Henderson were among the players reassured over their roles during the summer with Solskjaer admitting he had ‘overplayed’ others during the 2020-21 season, ESPN report.
The situation remains unchanged for many of those players this campaign, but, Van de Beek, who saw a move to Everton blocked by Solskjaer, has been handed only 16 minutes of Premier League action so far.
Lingard, who returned to United with a number of clubs interested in his services after a superb loan spell at West Ham United, has also struggled to for minutes.
While he has scored two goals off the bench in the Premier League, he has started just one match in all competitions this campaign.
Henderson has served as David de Gea’s understudy once again this campaign having shared first-team duties last year.
Bailly meanwhile was reported to have challenged Solskjaer after his decision to pick Harry Maguire instead of him for the clash with Leicester City in October – despite the England international having just returned to training from a calf injury.
In a number of cases, Solskjaer’s assurances in the summer convinced players to put plans to leave Old Trafford on hold.
There is now huge frustration among those who have remained on the fringes of the squad despite the poor run of results and disappointing displays from some first-team regulars.
Van de Beek is now considering a move away from Old Trafford in the January transfer window while Lingard is in the last year of his contract with no indication that a new contract will be signed.
