Victor Valdes' loan with Standard Liege has been cut short and he's returned to Manchester United.

Valdes has made just two Premier League appearances for United.

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 Liège want to thank Giannis and Víctor 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.”

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has stressed Mario Balotelli must improve in order to earn a permanent move to the club.

Balotelli has scored just once in 15 Serie A appearances.

Balotelli is on a one-year loan from Liverpool.

"Mario is feeling well," Galliani told reporters. "He is desperate to stay here at Milan.

"But like I have said before, he does not merit a permanent deal at the moment.

"We really like Mario, but he has to convince us to earn a permanent deal."

Balotelli's contract with Liverpool runs until June 2018.