Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Major Man Utd breakthrough as Ten Hag nears striker signing for price that’ll spare his blushes

Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag

Man Utd are likely to see their proposed upcoming bid for Cody Gakpo accepted after PSV Eindhoven’s stance became clear, and the final fee is likely to spare Erik ten Hag’s blushes.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s premature exit has left Ten Hag light on firepower. With the mid-season World Cup ensuring domestic football post-Christmas will be more congested than ever, Man Utd do not wish to run the risk of scuppering their season through a lack of goals.

Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial can both play up top. However, deploying either forward as the No 9 would in turn reduce Ten Hag’s options out wide.

A vast array of potential options in January have been touted, though one name from PSV Eindhoven has always been atop the club’s agenda.

Cody Gakpo’s stock is an all-time high following his World Cup exploits. He top scored for the Netherlands with three to back up an incredible first half of the season with PSV.

Gakpo held talks with Ten Hag over the summer, though the United boss prioritised signing Antony instead.

That pushed a Gakpo move back a minimum of six months and there were mounting fears Gakpo’s price tag has since spiralled out of control.

Regardless, the Telegraph reported Man Utd have settled on an opening bid of £43m to test the waters in Eindhoven next month.

PSV ready to accept Man Utd bid

According to talkSPORT, that figure comes within a whisker of what PSV will command, and as such, stands a good chance of being accepted.

talkSPORT report Man Utd will ‘go all out’ for Gakpo in January and PSV are ‘willing to entertain’ bids around the £45m mark.

Ten Hag has settled on Gakpo as the man to bolster his forward line and the United hierarchy will back their manager. In other words, they’re prepared to stump up the cash.

talkSPORT reporter, Alex Crook, shed further light on the breakthrough on Twitter. He tweeted there’s a ‘growing confidence’ at Old Trafford a deal will be made. Crook reiterated PSV are indeed ‘willing to cash in’.

With United’s proposed £43m bid only £2m below PSV’s valuation, there appears no reason why common ground can’t be found over such a small discrepancy.

French outlet FootMercato were among those to report Gakpo’s price tag had swelled significantly since the summer.

The 23-year-old was reportedly available for £35m last summer, though FootMercato recently reported PSV would now hold out for £65m.

Thankfully, for Ten Hag, those estimates appear to be wide of the mark and United will only have to pay around £8m-£10m more than if they’d moved for Gakpo in August.

Ten Hag will be among those breathing a huge sigh of relief at PSV being willing to cash in for what appears a modest sum on paper.

Gakpo has played primarily on the left wing at club level, though is adept at deputising as a centre-forward when required. Indeed, Dutch boss Louis van Gaal deployed Gakpo centrally to great effect in Qatar.

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