Antony, Donny van de Beek, Daley Blind and Timothy Fosu-Mensah. Manchester United do not have a great record of signing players from Ajax, but this does not seem to be deterring the club’s scouts and the former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, who have set their sights on Brian Brobbey to help solve the issue of scoring goals and winning football matches.
Brobbey has never been a prolific striker, despite playing for one of the strongest teams in a relatively weak league, but the 21-year-old has hit a bit of a hot streak lately, with nine goals in his past eight appearances for the Dutch giants. Plus, United do have a decent record with Brians (McClair, Kidd, does Bryan Robson count?), so maybe that has convinced Ten Hag, who gave Brobbey his Ajax debut in 2021. The Eredivisie club are adamant that Brobbey will not be sold unless a mammoth bid arrives. “I don’t decide whether he leaves, but insane amounts of money will be needed”, the Ajax manager John van ’t Schip.
United, meanwhile, have offered Antony and Jadon Sancho to Saudi clubs on permanent deals, but are demanding £50m for each winger. OK, Ineos!
Arsenal are keen to add Martín Zubimendi to their midfield. The Real Sociedad man has a €60m (£52m) release clause and has recently been linked with a move to Barcelona, but the Catalan club are not in a position financially to rival the Gunners. Everton’s Amadou Onana is another option and is also valued around the same price.
Speaking of expensive midfielders, Conor Gallagher’s potential move to Spurs has hit the buffers, with Tottenham unwilling to match Chelsea’s £50m asking price.
Elsewhere, Sheffield United are looking at Nottingham Forest’s club captain, Joe Worrall, after their own skipper, Anel Ahmedhodzic, was linked with a sensational move to Napoli. And while we’re in Italy, we might as well reveal that Juventus’s Moise Kean is close to joining Atlético Madrid on loan. The Spanish club tried for a similar loan deal for Newcastle’s Callum Wilson at the weekend but were told the English striker was unavailable.
Kean has not scored in 12 league appearances this season for Juve, but if he does move to Madrid that could pave the way for Ángel Correa to leave Atlético for Al-Ittihad – the Saudi club have so far offered €10m for the Argentinian.
And with Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek both proving hits in Milan, the Rossoneri are interested in Fulham’s English defender Tosin Adarabioyo. The 6ft 5in centre-back has been in fine form this season, and would be available for free in the summer when his contract expires.
