Donny van de Beek has set his sights on increasing his time on the field for Manchester United, after his return from a loan spell at Everton.
The 25-year-old says he is pleased to be back with the Reds, as part of the pre-season tour and, like everyone else, he is excited about the new era under manager Erik ten Hag.
After coming on as a substitute in the second half of the 4-0 opening win over Liverpool, he will hope to feature against Melbourne Victory on Friday. The 11:05 BST kick-off is live on MUTV, like all of our pre-season fixtures.
Donny has made 50 competitive appearances for United since signing from Ajax in September 2020, but he spent the second half of last season at Goodison Park with the Toffees.
The midfielder had a few injury concerns which limited his playing time on Merseyside, but still believes the temporary stint will prove valuable going forward.
“[United] is a massive club with a lot of fans and, to wear the shirt, it’s always a special feeling,”
Donny told us during an interview in Bangkok.
“For me as well, I’m really happy to be back.
“For my experience, I think [the Everton loan] was good,” he continued.
“Obviously, I was a little bit unlucky with my injuries.
“I missed a lot of games but to have that experience… it was not an easy season for the team, because we played to avoid relegation, which is not what you want for a club like Everton, but, overall, it was a good experience to be there.”
Van de Beek is part of the squad for Tour 2022 and keen to impress as he looks to establish himself in Ten Hag’s plans.
“I think making as many minutes personally, as I can,”
our no.34 replied, when asked about his ambitions for the 2022/23 campaign.
“I think we need to improve as a team. If you’re looking at last season, we have a lot of things to improve and, if we work on that now, then we’ll see where we end up.
“We will fight for everything.”
MUTV is the only place to watch Friday’s match in Australia LIVE, with coverage starting an hour ahead of the 11:05 kick-off*.
MUTV, United App and ManUtd.com viewers will also have access to the short and extended match highlights before anyone else, as well as the full match replay. So what are you waiting for? Visit MUTV now.
*MUTV live coverage not available in Australia due to domestic broadcast rights.