Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has "taken the p*ss" out of Donny van de Beek, according to Paul Ince, who says the £40 million ($54m) midfielder was sold a "dream" by the Manchester United boss.
United spent big money to prise Van de Beek away from Ajax in September 2020, tying him down to a five-year contract.
Much was expected of a midfielder that shone on a regular basis at Johan Cruyff ArenA, but he has yet to earn a regular place in Solskjaer's starting XI, much to the bemusement of Ince.
Man Utd fans get behind Van de Beek
Van de Beek has been restricted to just two Premier League appearances for United so far this season, including a 10-minute cameo in their 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
The loudest cheers from the home faithful over the course of the 90 minutes were reserved for when the Dutchman was warming up and when he eventually came on in a game that saw the Red Devils lack a creative spark in the middle of the pitch.
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Ince slams Solskjaer
Ince has now accused Solskjaer of making false promises to Van de Beek upon his initial arrival at Old Trafford.
"Donny van de Beek gets four minutes against Atalanta. What worries me is the choices Ole makes," the ex-United captain has told The United Stand.
"This is what he said and Donny thought, ‘f*ck me, this is my dream, this is what I’ve been waiting for’. Two years down the line he’s on the bench. Ole’s actually taken the p*ss out of him.
"Not only has he taken the p*ss out of him, he gives him four minutes against Atalanta and then goes, ‘oh by the way, here’s your chance, go and have 10 minutes against Manchester City where we’ve not touched the ball for 85 minutes and show me what you can do’.
"If I’m Donny van de Beek I would’ve said, ‘f*ck that, I’m not going on now, you want me to go on for 10 minutes when we haven’t touched the ball for 88 minutes?’. Now you’re taking the p*ss out of him even more."
What about Lingard and Pogba?
Ince feels Jesse Lingard has also been hard done by, having been reduced to a bit-part role once again following his return from a successful loan spell at West Ham.
The former England international added: "It’s decisions like that that baffle me, they really do. I don’t understand.
"He stopped Jesse Lingard from going to West Ham because he said he’ll be part of his team. You’re 2-0 down and you don’t bring him on.
On Pogba, Ince expects the Frenchman will have left by the end of the season, with his contract expiring in 2022: "You see the situation with Pogba now, he’s starting to get sent off all the time, all that is starting to flare up again. He’ll be gone by the end of the season."