Eintracht Frankfurt boss apologises to Manchester United flop Donny van de Beek over Europa snub and insists the midfielder will be important for the second half of the season

Eintracht Frankfurt boss Dino Toppmoller has apologised to Donny van de BeekToppmoller left Van de Beek, 26, out of their Europa Conference League squadThe only PR that managers get is results... the way Erik ten Hag handled Marcus Rashford was a rare positive for the Man U boss - It's All Kicking Off podcast 

Eintracht Frankfurt boss Dino Toppmoller has apologised to Donny van de Beek for leaving him out their Europa Conference League squad and insisted he has ‘100 per cent confidence in the Dutch midfielder’.

Van de Beek last month joined the Bundesliga giants until the end of the season after struggling for minutes under his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.

The 26-year-old midfielder has struggled to settle at the club, having been substituted in each of his appearances for Frankfurt to date.

Thing went from bad to worse for Van de Beek when Toppmoller decided to leave him out of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa Conference League squad.

Toppmoller has apologised to Van de Beek and says he has ‘confidence’ in the midfielder’s ‘quality’ – stating the Dutchman will ‘definitely help in the second half of the season’.

Donny van de Beek was left out of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa Conference League squad

Dino Toppmoller has apologised and said he has ‘100 per cent confidence in the Dutchman’.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Toppmoller has also urged the Frankfurt to remain patient with Van de Beek due to the lack of football he had at Manchester United, claiming his success at the club ‘won’t happen overnight’.

‘He’s only played a total of four games in the last two years, so it won’t happen overnight,’ Toppmoller said.

‘But I have 100 per cent confidence in his quality, he’ll definitely help us in the second half of the season. I told Donny that I was sorry but also what I expected from him now.’

Toppmoller went on to discuss how Van de Beek took the news, saying: ‘He showed me that he can handle the decision well. He is ready to take on the challenge.’

Van de Beek struggled to make an impression during his first three appearances for Frankfurt and was taken off at half-time during their victory over Mainz last month.

As per UEFA regulations, clubs are only able to make three changes to their 25-man squads ahead of the knockout stages – and Van de Beek was the man to miss out.

January arrivals Sasa Kalajdzic and Hugo Ekitike, as well as Philipp Max, were selected instead, leaving Van de Beek’s future looking bleak just weeks into his stint.

He is yet to score or assist in his three appearances for Frankfurt and found himself left on the substitutes’ bench for the 2-0 defeat by Koln.

Incredibly, he has created just one chance for his team-mates since joining the club – meaning he is not a priority for Toppmoller.

Van de Beek was hoping for a fresh start at Eintracht Frankfurt after struggling for minutes at Manchester United following his arrival in 2020.

Van de Beek made just 23 starts over three-and-a-half years under three different bosses, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Ten Hag.

United boss Erik ten Hag believes injuries are primarily to blame for Van de Beek’s nightmare

Erik ten Hag, however, believes injuries were primarily to blame for Van de Beek’s woes at Old Trafford.

‘He has had many injuries, first of all,’ Ten Hag said. ‘From the first moment I came in here at Manchester United, he wasn’t the player he was at Ajax as he was injured.

‘So many times he was not available and then he struggled for a long time to recover from that injury. That is probably the main reason why he was not playing.

‘We decided for a loan in the summer but it didn’t come and then his opportunities are few because also we make appointments and we make agreements with players and contract players in that position. The competition was high.’