Ten Hag reignites interest in bringing Ajax star to Man Utd this month

Suraj Radia

• Updated: 20 Jan 2024 15:08 GMT
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag is keen to sign another one of his former Ajax players and a long-term transfer target this winter despite Manchester United’s tight constraints in the market.

Like most teams this month, United find themselves at the mercy of financial fair play limits following their outlay of more than €200 million on players during the summer.

United have been desperate to add some firepower to their squad, with Ten Hag’s side amongst the lowest scorers in the Premier League and the Dutchman has renewed his interest in Ajax star Brian Brobbey to solve the team’s goalscoring woes.

Brobbey was a target for United last summer prior to the signing of Rasmus Hojlund but Sky Sport Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has revealed that contact between Ten Hag and the 21-year-old ‘never broke off’.

Instead, Ten Hag is said to ‘have the idea’ to sign Brobbey in the winter, however Ajax have no intention of selling their top scorer this month, with a transfer more likely in the summer.

Brobbey has scored nine times in 16 league matches this season and recently made his debut for the Dutch national team, with the striker’s profile likely to rise if he is called up for the European Championships this summer.

Brobbey reveals he rejected Ten Hag approach

United have scored just 24 goals in their 21 Premier League games this season, with only three teams netting fewer times than them.

The club’s top scorer remains Scott McTominay with just five goals, while Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Hojlund have only netted nine times between them.

Although Ten Hag will be encouraged that six of those nine goals have come in the past month, an injury to Anthony Martial has left United lacking alternatives up front, with the Frenchman potentially having played his last game for the club ahead of his contract expiring in the summer.

Brobbey’s contract runs until 2027 and the youngster is said to have a ‘high appreciation’ for Ten Hag despite admitting recently that he rejected a move to Old Trafford prior to re-joining Ajax in 2022.

"Erik ten Hag called me and said that at United, my agent would get millions of euros and I could earn a multiple of my Ajax salary. But our decision was clear: we wanted to go to Ajax," Brobbey said.

"Manchester United wanted to have me, but I insisted on returning to Ajax.”