Manchester United set to seal first of five planned exits before January transfer window opens

Manchester United are close to sealing their first outgoing transfer of the January transfer window before the market opens, it has been reported.

United currently sit seventh in the Premier League and are six points off the top four places after Saturday's 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.

Whether manager Erik ten Hag makes wholesale changes to his side for the trip to Liverpool on Sunday remains to be seen.

But one player who seems unlikely to feature is midfielder Donny van de Beek, who hasn't played a minute for United since the 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on September 30.

He has, though, returned to the substitutes' bench in the last three games, having been in and out of the squad altogether in recent months.

Having recovered from a serious knee injury in time for pre-season, Van de Beek scored for United in their opening friendly against Lyon, and provided two assists against Borussia Dortmund.

But a return to competitive action hasn't yielded any success for the 26-year-old, and he looks set to halt his largely disappointing three-and-a-half year spell at Old Trafford - at least temporarily.

That's according to Fabrizio Romano, who claims that Bundesliga side Frankfurt are 'leading the race' to sign the Dutchman ahead of La Liga leaders Girona.

He wrote on X (Twitter): "Eintracht Frankfurt lead the race to sign Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United. Talks are advancing.

"Understand Girona also asked for Donny on loan but offering different conditions at this stage."

🚨🔴 EXCLUSIVE: Eintracht Frankfurt lead the race to sign Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United. Talks are advancing.

Understand Girona also asked for Donny on loan but offering different conditions at this stage.

Time for decision soon — Donny will leave United. pic.twitter.com/iwipngLaD3

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 12, 2023

Van de Beek could be one of several exits for United in January, with The Guardian claiming that Ten Hag is open to offers for four other players.

It is reported that the club will consider bids for Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho, Casemiro and Raphael Varane.

All four players could miss Tuesday's Champions League clash against Bayern Munich. Martial and Casemiro were both absent from training ahead of the contest, while Sancho remains unavailable. Varane has been out of the side in recent weeks, with Ten Hag preferring to play Luke Shaw or Victor Lindelof on the left side of central defence.

However, The Guardian add that the Dutchman is unwilling to sanction sales if it weakens the squad.