Donny van de Beek's loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt has already taken a huge hit

Donny van de Beek's career has suffered another major setback after Eintracht Frankfurt manager Dino Toppmoller made a huge call ahead of this month's fixture list.

The 26-year-old Netherlands international, who has endured a frustrating spell at Manchester United following a much-anticipated £35 million move from Ajax, will spend the rest of the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Bundesliga side hammered out a six-month loan deal with United that includes an option to buy clause worth £9.5 million plus £2.6 million in add-ons but a permanent transfer to the Waldstadion looks in doubt already.

After making three appearances for Die Adler in the league, Frankfurt manager Dino Toppmoller has decided to exclude Van de Beek from his squad for the Europa League knockout stages, according to BILD.

Van De Beek started three consecutive league games for the German side in January but after being brought off around the hour mark against RB Leipzig and Darmstadt, he was replaced at half-time on January 26.

The midfielder attempted just eight passes in their Bundesliga clash against Mainz, with only three being made in the opposition half.

And now, a day after he watched their 2-0 defeat at Koln from the bench, he will miss their upcoming Europa Conference League knockout games against Belgian Pro League leaders Union Saint-Gilloise.

After spending the latter part of the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Everton, Van de Beek made just 10 appearances in all competitions for United last season.

Image credit: Getty

Still, Frankfurt's director of football Markus Krosche has a huge amount of belief in the former Ajax midfielder.

"Donny van de Beek is a perfect match for our playing style and is a key part of our team's puzzle," he said last month.

"He brings lots of international experience with him that our young players can benefit from. Donny exudes goal threat and should help our attackers to get into promising positions."

Image credit: Sofascore

Dino Toppmoller, meanwhile, has called for patience.

When asked about the arrivals of Van de Beek and Sasa Kalajdzic, he told Kicker: “The two of them are not in the rhythm of the game. We are trying to integrate them.

“It is not about them playing outstandingly in their first two games, but about helping us throughout the entire second half of the season.”