Manchester United’s summer spending spree ended up crossing the £200m mark when six new players arrived at Old Trafford amid much fanfare.
Erik ten Hag had prioritized the defense and midfield as the areas that needed the most reinforcements.
Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martínez arrived to shore up the defense while Christian Eriksen and Casemiro were recruited to reinforce the options in midfield.
There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s future with the Portuguese looking to leave for a Champions League club.
Summer goals for Utd
United had two players in mind for their attacking department: Antony and Cody Gakpo. Initially, the Red Devils had thought the Brazilian could be signed for £50m and would have funds left over to launch a £25m bid for Gakpo.
????????????| Manchester United remain interested in signing Dutch international winger Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in the next twelve months.
[@sampilger via @Forbes] #MUFC ???? pic.twitter.com/glR9vZfWCB
— UtdActive ???? (@UtdActive) September 27, 2022
However, Ajax continued to play hard on Antony’s price and eventually crossed the £85m mark with United conceding defeat in pursuit of both attackers.
With Ronaldo also ending up at United, the need to add Gakpo to United’s attacking arsenal diminished and the move fell through despite the deal on personal terms.
Leeds and Southampton had their deadline day offers rejected with Forbes mentioning in its report that “the player opted to remain in the Netherlands, aware that United were likely to come back for him”.
Despite the play of his dreams not working out, the 23-year-old has not lost his appetite for goals and has scored 10 times in 13 games in all competitions, including 8 goals in 7 Eredivisie games.
come in 2023
Coupled with the Netherlands’ impressive form, Erik ten Hag’s pursuit of the player seems vindicated and “makes it more likely that United will be looking to close a deal in the near future”.
Sam Pilger adds in his article that with Ronaldo certain to leave next summer, a new approach for the PSV star is on the horizon. Both Gakpo and Ten Hag have the same agency, something that will probably help in the future.
“United don’t think they will experience as much resistance from PSV as they did with Ajax during the deal to sign Antony. Gakpo has an agreement with PSV that he can leave if they receive an offer of a certain level.”
Gakpo’s current level of performance shows just how threatening he can be from both wide and central boxes. A deal for him would represent smart business for the Red Devils in a market devoid of world-class attackers.
United Matchday Magazine: The best pre-match experienceThe Manchester derby. Ten Hag’s men are ready. this is huge
Get ready for the match and enjoy carefully curated news, opinions and more Online football content like you’ve never seen before No ads, no clickbait, no fake news – just 100% pure United Delivered instantly to your device made easy and secure online Place an order Click Preview to see more or GET YOUR FREE COPY (usually £1.25 / $1.50) Limited Time Offer: SAVE 33% on a Season Pass – Use discount code SEASON33 at checkout the purchase.
