Ex-Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag ‘wanted to pay’ £34m to sign Ajax star ‘not even’ attracting £8.5m bid
A Dutch journalist claims Manchester United dodged a bullet with a former transfer target after ex-boss Erik ten Hag “wanted to pay” £34m.
Towards the end of 2024, Man Utd sacked Ten Hag as they endured a disastrous 18 months after they won third in the Premier League and won the Carabao Cup in 2022/23.
Last season’s FA Cup saved Ten Hag, who kept his job despite guiding Man Utd to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League, only to be dismissed this term with the Red Devils languishing in the bottom half.
Ten Hag failed to establish a clear style of football at Man Utd and was also criticised for focusing on signing from Ajax, rival Eredivisie clubs or Netherlands internationals.
Ajax forward Brian Brobbey was a target they missed out on after Ten Hag pushed to reunite with the 23-year-old.
Brobbey shone under Ten Hag during a loan spell at Ajax in 2021/22 and he joined the Dutch giants permanently during the 2022 summer transfer window.
Last year, Brobbey revealed Ten Hag contacted him about a move to Man Utd before he joined Ajax permanently.
“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,” Brobbey revealed.
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“But our decision was clear: we wanted to go to Ajax.
“Manchester United wanted to have me, but I insisted on returning to Ajax. To make that possible, my agent Jose Fortes Rodriguez even waived a hefty percentage of the sell-on clause.”
Brobbey has shone for Ajax in recent years, but his form has declined this season as he’s only scored four Eredivisie goals. Now, Dutch journalist Valentijn Driessen claims Ten Hag would have overpaid to sign the forward.
“Ten Hag wanted to pay another €40m [£34m] for him, now they are not even paying €10m [£8.5m],” Driessen said when asked about Brobbey.
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Interestingly, former Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has backed Brobbey to “come a great player again” and encouraged him to join one specific Premier League club.
“I know for sure that if he goes abroad, he will become a great player again,” Van der Vaart said.
“He just has to leave Ajax. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but that connection is no longer there. He is probably also playing against himself a bit. If you leave the Netherlands, there is also less attention for you.
“I would like to see him in England. Brighton & Hove Albion for example. I really still believe in him.”
