Van de Beek says he is hoping for better days under head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to salvage is career at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman arrived in England with a big tag of someone who is destined for greatness but it has not been the case so far.
Van de Beek has been on the periphery since he joined the English side from Ajax, having played only 19 times in the Premier League in his debut season and is yet to start a match this campaign.
The 24-year-old was close to joining Everton in the just ended summer transfer window but opted to stay and keep fighting for his place in Manchester.
“I speak with the manager about it and the club,” Van de Beek told Rio Ferdinand in an interview.
“They were clear they wanted me to stay here. The manager was really positive about me and he said; ‘I need you and I want to keep you here’. Of course, what I see here now in the beginning of the season is difficult, because I didn’t play one minute, but he said; ‘What I see every day in training, I see a different Donny now’. He was really positive about me and I’m feeling well. I’m in good shape so I hope that I can show the people that I improved a lot.
“He sees a big difference, that I’m a little bit stronger now. He can see that I now have one-year experience here in England.
“If he sees me now and in the beginning, he sees a big difference. I need to trust [Solskjaer]. If he doesn’t need me, I think he will let me go. I think he has plans with me. I just need to work hard and I hope I can show the people, one day, what I can do.
“You can never promise that [game time]. This is football and I think you can never promise a player if he will play – or not. You can train every day hard, but in the end you need game time to show your best shape. If you play once in a month or anything, you cannot show your best.”
