Donny van de Beek has been given "clarity" on his Manchester United future, according to his agent Guido Albers, who has insisted that "he cannot have another season like last year".
Much was expected of Van de Beek when he arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax for £35 million ($48m) in September 2020, but he has so far struggled to make an impact in a United shirt.
The Netherlands international has been starved of regular minutes amid strong competition for places in midfield, leading to plenty of speculation that he could move onto pastures new before the current transfer window closes.
What has Solskjaer said?
Van de Beek was an unused substitute once again as United were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at St Mary's on Sunday, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave assurances in his post-match interview that the 24-year-old has a key role to play as the season progresses.
"I thought Nemanja [Matic] was excellent, Anthony [Martial] was close to scoring a goal but Jadon [Sancho] and Donny will be important for us," said the Red Devils boss.
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Van de Beek's agent responds
Solskjaer's comments have been warmly received by Albers, who is now confident that Van de Beek will have the chance to prove his worth in Manchester with a significant run of games.
"Everyone within the club knows that Donny cannot have another season like last year," the 24-year-old's agent has told De Telegraaf.
“In preparation, clarity has been provided about his role. The fans had already embraced him before, but the most important thing is that the trainer has now provided clarity in the English press.
"We are happy with that. And I assume that Donny will play a lot in one of the positions in midfield in the coming period.”
Van de Beek's United record
Van de Beek has been restricted to just 34 appearances across all competitions for United to date, and only has one goal and two assists to his name.
The Red Devils' faithful have seen the Dutchman in Premier League action on 19 occasions, with just four of those outings coming as a starter, but he will be in line to feature again when Solskjaer's side travel to Wolves on Sunday.