After dropping their pursuit of Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic, Manchester United are reportedly turning their attention to PSV forward Cody Gakpo.
A new attacker has been a priority of Erik ten Hag ' s all summer, with Ajax's Antony a previous target before the Dutch side demanded a huge transfer fee. Since then, United had a bid rejected by Bologna for former Stoke and West Ham striker Arnautovic, but have since revealed they are no longer interested in the Austrian Forward.
According to a report from Sky Sports, United are 'preparing' a move for Gakpo, with the versatile forward having also been linked with Arsenal this summer. The 23-year-old grabbed 12 goals and 13 assists in the previous Eredivisie campaign, with the Netherlands international scoring twice in the first game of this season.
READ MORE: Four transfer targets Rangnick recommended to United
So, if United were to sign Cody Gakpo, could he help Ten Hag's side get back into the Champions League? Let's take a look.
We 'signed' Cody Gakpo for Man United
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for the Gakpo to join United from PSV, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also updated United's squad with the latest transfers, and the Premier League with the latest results.
On his arrival, Gakpo and Marcus Rashford both rotated on the left, but the Netherlands international featured more, making 47 appearances in all competitions. Out of the 47 games played, 25 of them were starts whilst he appeared 22 times from the bench.
Gakpo had a fantastic goal return in his first campaign, scoring 15 goals whilst registering a further nine assists across the season. Most of his contributions came in the Premier League, scoring nine and assisting eight.
Compared to his teammates, Gakpo registered the third highest rating out of all the attackers and midfielders, averaging a 7.22 out of 10 per game. The 23-year-old was the joint-second top scorer with Bruno Fernandes, with Anthony Martial scoring 25.
Interestingly, Rashford was the only player who made fewer appearances than Gakpo due to their constant rotation. Gakpo also managed the joint-second most assists, but he won the player of the match award just once - the least out of the top seven performing players.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; Eriksen, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Gakpo; Ronaldo.
Gakpo started in the United XI ahead of Rashford on the left, with Cristiano Ronaldo making the best XI ahead of Martial after averaging a higher rating. Fred partnered Christian Eriksen in the midfield pivot, while new signings Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez made it into the defence.
Despite a poor end to the season that saw United lose their final two games, Ten Hag's side clinched a top-four spot, confirming Champions League football for the season ahead. Their target for the season was hit, though after finishing just three points off second place, there was big potential to have done better.
They also finished three points ahead of Chelsea in fifth after the Blues plummeted out of the top four, going winless in their final seven games. On top of securing Champions League football, United won a trophy in Ten Hag's first season, making it very successful.
After going 1-0 down to league winners Liverpool, United fought back to win 2-1 in the FA Cup final and claim the trophy. Ten hag's side crashed out of the Europa League in the semi-final after a 5-0 aggregate loss to AC Milan, and after going 3-0 down in the opening four minutes, United were eliminated in the Carabao Cup fourth round to Fulham.
Overall, this simulation suggests that if United were to sign Gakpo, the winger could phase Rashford out of the side and improve Ten Hag's side, becoming their new left winger. In the simulation, his impressive goal return not only made him one of the key players in the squad, but his contribution also helped United claim a top four spot and a trophy.
Would you like to see Man United sign Gakpo? Let us know in the comments!
READ MORE:
