Ajax prevented forward from joining Manchester United

Karan Tejwani

• 9 Sept 2022 09:00 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United have done plenty of business with Ajax over the summer transfer period, bringing in two players and the manager from the Dutch champions.

It started off in April when they signed Erik ten Hag and the coach wanted to bring in players he knew well, thus the transfers of defender Lisandro Martinez and winger Antony.

Both transfers came at a big price, with Antony being the most expensive transfer of the summer after Ajax rejected two previous Manchester United bids.

There could have been a fourth former Ajax figure moving to Old Trafford this summer, but that was ruled out by the Dutch club, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Ajax prevented another Man Utd move

United wanted to sign forward Brian Brobbey, who spent the second half of last season on loan from German outfit RB Leipzig, having left Ajax for free in the summer of 2021.

Ten Hag was keen on bringing him to Old Trafford as he was a fan of the forward’s style of play and felt he would’ve slotted in well in the Premier League.

Ajax were always in strong negotiations with Leipzig to make the loan move permanent, and paid a big fee to get him from the Bundesliga side, with Brobbey also keen to return to Amsterdam.

Earlier in the week, Brobbey admitted he would like to play at Manchester United one day, but he has unfinished business with Ajax before deciding anything else on his future.

He also discussed a phone call he had with Ten Hag upon his signing for Ajax: "He said he would like to have me with him. I told him I will think about it, but I already knew my answer."

Manchester United need attacking depth as Marcus Rashford has been playing as a forward, with Cristiano Ronaldo struggling to break into the first team and Anthony Martial’s fitness not being up to scratch.