Man Utd were ‘never convinced’ about new Liverpool signing Cody Gakpo with Erik ten Hag now looking for a loan signing to bolster his attack, according to reports.
PSV Eindhoven surprised everyone on Boxing Day by announcing that Liverpool had agreed a fee to sign Gakpo and that the Netherlands international would now travel to Merseyside to complete a move.
Gakpo admitted earlier this month that the Red Devils were interested in him in the summer transfer window but that he was yet to hear from them ahead of the winter market.
On interest from Leeds, Southampton and Man Utd in the summer, Gakpo told Dutch newspaper NRC on December 7: “That was a tough period. I learned from that. I’m going to do it differently. What comes, that comes.
“Suppose you want to go from RKC (Waalwijk) to PSV, but that club is not coming. Then you can panic.
“I thought about Manchester United, but when that didn’t happen, I couldn’t remember. And I started to doubt. Leeds United did come. Should I go there?
“Now I wait (for) everything. I haven’t heard from Manchester United yet. When they come, I’ll think about it. I also seek the help of God in these decisions.”
Despite their interest in the summer, BBC Sport journalist Howard Nurse claims that the Man Utd ‘scouting department was never convinced about the player’s level of development’.
And, even if they had been convinced by Gakpo, it would’ve been unlikely that Man Utd would’ve spent a huge sum of money in the January transfer window.
A report in the Daily Telegraph today claims the Red Devils ‘are in the market for a loan signing to bolster Erik ten Hag’s attack after going over their intended budget in the summer when they invested more than £200 million in the Dutch coach’s squad’.
In an effort to save money for the summer, Man Utd now have a ‘preference for a short-term deal for the second half of the campaign’ as they look to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who left by mutual consent at the end of November.
The Telegraph adds:
‘United would ideally want a No 9 to play through the middle but are not restricting themselves to a centre-forward if a suitable, versatile attacker comes on the market when the transfer window opens next week.
‘But the focus of the recruitment team for Ten Hag has been on loans, given their previous window when Antony, Casemiro, Lisandro Martínez and Tyrell Malacia were bought and Christian Eriksen arrived on a free transfer.’
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