CONFIRMED: Everton sign Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United

Everton have confirmed the signing of Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek on loan until the end of the season. There is no option-to-buy clause included that we know of as of now.

The Netherlands international becomes Frank Lampard’s first signing as Toffees boss and bolsters a midfield that was looking worryingly low on numbers. Everton have agreed to take on van de Beek’s full salary in lieu of any loan payments, with his reportedly £120,000 per week wages the same as Lucas Digne’s, who was just sold to Aston Villa.

Speaking about the deal, van de Beek said:

“Now I can say I am an Everton player, I am really happy and can’t wait to help the team.

“I think it is a great club… there are really good players here and I came because I want to help them go up the table.”

With Tom Davies, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Fabian Delph all out until March Van de Beek is likely to be pitched into the side straight away. He is cup-tied for next weekend’s match against Brentford though, meaning his first appearance is likely to be the trip to Newcastle on 8 February.

He is Everton’s fourth signing of the window after permanent deals for full-backs Vitaly Mykoleno and Nathan Patterson, and a loan move for Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi.

The squad could still do with another defensive midfielder though and that is likely to be their focus on deadline day, though they have now filled their quota of permitted Premier League loans.

Crystal Palace were also in for the 24-year-old and looked to be winning the race at the start of the weekend. But Everton made a late intervention on Saturday and the midfielder opted for a switch to Goodison over the Eagles.

Everton had targeted Van de Beek over the summer but were not able to get a deal over the line, but have opted to revive the move after transfer talks with new boss Lampard. He joined Manchester United with great fanfare from Ajax in the summer of 2020, costing the Red Devils around £35m. However, he has struggled to make an impact in that time, making just four Premier League starts.

The deal is the opportunity to revive his career and boost his international chances, with Netherlands boss Louis Van Gaal warning van de Beek that he needs to be playing regularly in order to be in contention for his World Cup squad.