PSV Eindhoven director John de Jong has revealed that Manchester United dropped their interest in Cody Gakpo late in the transfer window despite the two clubs having held “concrete” talks.
The Dutch forward was linked with a switch to Old Trafford this summer as a potential alternative to Brazilian winger Antony - the Red Devils having previously been slow in their attempts to sign him from fellow Eredivisie club Ajax.
In the end, United eventually ended up signing the wideman - an £86m fee being enough to take him to Old Trafford - and Antony enjoyed an extremely promising start to his career with the club having scored on his debut against Arsenal.
PSV director De Jong has revealed that United’s interest in Gakpo stretched back to the start of the summer and the two clubs even held discussions over his signing but their interest waned as they got closer to the deadline.
Speaking with Voetbal International, he said: “Manchester United signed up at the beginning of the transfer period. They expressed their interest. But after that, it took a long time.
“In the end, as management, we had talks with United between the games against Rangers. Then it seemed to get more concrete, but that faded and at the end of the window the option to sell him to United was no longer there.”
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Gakpo eventually ended up staying with PSV despite deadline day interest from United’s Premier League rivals Leeds United and Southampton. Whilst the Red Devils’ did of course get their man Antony, the deal has not left all satisfied.
The Eredivisie giants’ sporting director Gerry Hamstra has hit out at United for their late move for the Brazilian. He said: “Manchester United's timing was so bad.
“The last few days [of the transfer window] became even more hectic after Ajax had already gone through a major rebuild of the squad following the departure of lots of top-class players. It was so difficult to leave our new manager with such a void.”
Meanwhile, Ajax manager Schreuder has also expressed his displeasure at Antony himself after the Brazilian winger went on strike to force through a move to Old Trafford. He said: “I thought: you're just a f*cking player. You have to train and play as every player should while under contract.
“I told him he would not be leaving. I thought it was weird behaviour. It's a shame it happened. Personally, I just think it's bad.
“I'm angry about it, too. This sort of thing, so late in the window, frustrates you as a manager.”
