During a fact-finding recce in Germany, the Reds football director John Murtough was told German football was years behind England.
Van de Beek, bound for Eintracht Frankfurt, was off the pace in the Premier League for United and Everton.
United are braced for a £22.5m loss on a 26-year-old they only signed in September 2020.
It would be an exaggeration to state Van de Beek was foisted onto Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but the United manager would have preferred Jack Grealish or James Maddison. Who wouldn't? Maddison eventually left Leicester for the same £40m fee United agreed with Ajax for Van de Beek.
Until injury interrupted his campaign, Maddison was the standout player in the Premier League. Van de Beek's playing time in the competition this season has amounted to two minutes.
He is not the only one United have to cut their losses on. If there is not a taker for Anthony Martial in the winter window, he will be released in the summer.
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