When Erik ten Hag took over as Manchester United’s new manager, his priorities were to improve a leaky defense and add steel and cunning to a lackluster midfield.
The Dutchman brought in Lisandro Martínez, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen to address those issues and their performances so far this season have vindicated his stance.
However, the problem of lack of goals remains. To date, the Red Devils have scored 20 times in 14 games, the second lowest tally among the Premier League’s top 10 teams.
And after the bitter departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the team’s top scorer last season, the need to strengthen up front has become even greater.
United striker search
The forwards at Ten Hag’s disposal, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, have suffered bouts of wastage and injury that have not helped the team rack up the number of goals their performances deserve.
The club has been linked with quite a few forwards with Cody Gakpo, Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos and Memphis Depay among the top candidates.
Regarding the PSV Eindhoven star, club DoF Marcel Brands has admitted that the club is preparing to sell its initial asset in January if the price is right.
Brands, director of PSV: “Only 10/12 clubs can afford Cody Gakpo in January. Let’s see if it happens, it has to be a PSV record sale and also the right offer for Cody’s plans” ???????? #transfers
“We still don’t have official offers. Let’s see if any club pays a lot in January. pic.twitter.com/kT26F3V5t7
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 12, 2022
They will only sell if they receive a record offer and are aware of the interest Gakpo has generated since their World Cup heroics.
One thing is for sure, the prices quoted in the summer will not be considered as at that time the eyes of the world were not on him.
“You have to be realistic. When you talk about Cody Gakpo and the price, how many clubs can buy a player of that caliber? You’re talking about maybe 10 or 12 clubs in Europe,” Brands told PSV’s fan club talk show. , Eeuwig Trouw.
“You have to need a player in that position and power and be willing to spend the money in January, which is usually less hectic than the summer. We have yet to see if it all happens. It has no clause or anything.
Gakpo can be sold in January, but can United afford it?
“And no amounts have been agreed upon either. The agreements that were made were there before my time. No amounts have been discussed, but if the right club comes along that Cody would like to go to.”
“Those agreements were already made before I came. It must be a record transfer for PSV anyway. Then you know in which direction it should go.”
Interestingly, PSV have yet to receive any offers and the striker is currently on a ten-day break after which he will return to his club.
It remains to be seen if the Reds can pull off this impressive transfer considering the prices being quoted and their current financial state.
As previously reported, United are currently still to pay pending transfers to other clubs of £306m. And Gakpo will definitely not be available for 40 million euros.
