Victor Valdes returns to Manchester United: Standard Liege loan cut short

Louis van Gaal likely to continue to freeze goalkeeper out

Victor Valdes (Getty)

Victor Valdes is returning to Manchester United after seeing his loan at Standard Liege cut short.

The goalkeeper only moved to the Belgian club in January and during his eight appearances in Liege helped the club win the Belgian Cup in March.

However Standard are keen to give their youth players a chance in the final weeks of the season and as a result are cutting the Spaniard's time at the club short.

A statement published on standard.be, which also confirmed the early departure of Giannis Maniatis, read: "As we decided to give more playing time to the youth players at the end of the season and because they couldn't be selected for medical reasons, the Spanish goalkeeper and the Greek midfielder have decided, in agreement with the club, to finish their loans at the end of this week.

"Standard Liege want to thank Giannis and Victor for everything they did for our club, especially during the successful campaign on the way to winning the Belgian Cup. We also wish them the best in the rest of their professional careers."

It's unclear what reception Valdes will receive upon his return to Old Trafford. The 34-year-old fell out with manager Louis van Gaal amid allegations he refused to play for the Under-21s side. It was a situation that saw him fail to make a single appearance for Manchester United this season before being loaned out. He was also ordered to train away from the senior players.

Van Gaal (Getty)

With Barcelona Valdes won the Primera Division six times and the Champions League three times but a cruciate ligament injury suffered in March 2014 ended his career at the Nou Camp.