Mark Hughes believes Donny van de Beek has not yet earned the trust of his Manchester United teammates.
The Netherlands international was given a rare start in the 1-0 FA Cup win over West Ham United but Van de Beek was largely ineffective in his eleventh appearance from the off.
His outing ended in the 73rd minute when he was replaced by Bruno Fernandes as United chased progression into the sixth round of the competition.
"You just sense... it looks like they don't trust him with the ball yet," Hughes said on talkSPORT after a quiet first-half performance from the £39 million signing.
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"When the likes of Fred and Matic look up and they see Rashford, they see Martial, they see Greenwood, who is still a young player but has great talent, it's like they defer to them, their first thought is to pass to them.
"Van de Beek, I haven't seen a great deal of movement, I haven't seen little movements to get in pockets of space, even though you suspect that's the player he is and those are the areas he wants to work in.
"He's been disappointing again. He's playing for Manchester United, a huge club, he's got to show more than he's showing at the moment."
Hughes, a three-time FA Cup winner with United during his time as a player, believes the former Ajax man can't complain too much about the lack of game-time he's received.
"Yeah you want to give the boy a chance, and he probably feels a bit aggrieved that he hasn't had a run of games, he's probably feeling a bit hard done by," he added.
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"But you have to say, given what he's produced in the time he's had, he doesn't deserve more than that.
"So he's got to show more."
Van de Beek's move to United hasn't worked out well at all so far and fans picked up on his heartbreaking reaction to being subbed.
He was really hoping his number wouldn't flash up on the fourth official's electronic board but you could see how gutted he was when he realised he was being hooked.
Topics: Donny van de Beek, Football, Manchester United, Ajax