Man Utd warned Erik ten Hag faces competition to sign Cody Gakpo

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Manchester United have been warned that “every club will be looking at” World Cup star Cody Gakpo after he scored in back-to-back games at the Qatar tournament. The Red Devils have had a long-standing interest in the Dutchman, and were strongly linked with a summer move but Erik ten Hag’s side opted to sign Antony from Ajax instead for £85million.

Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Old Trafford, rumours have persisted about the PSV man especially after his heroics in the World Cup group stage. He scored the first goal of the tournament for Louis van Gaal’s side against Senegal with an impressive header, and then notched his second inside a week when his left-footed strike crashed into the Ecuadorian net on Friday.

Gakpo has been playing centrally for Holland, which may appeal to United more as they could look to bring forward plans to sign a striker after Ronaldo’s contract was mutually terminated. Former West Ham striker Dean Ashton believes that Ten Hag may suddenly face more competition to sign Gakpo however after his displays in Qatar.

“A young player at the top of his game,” Ashton told talkSPORT. “Brimming with his confidence after his goal against Senegal… it was past the goalkeeper before he could even imagine to save it. It was a fantastic strike, he totally took charge of that situation. What a star this young man is going to be. He is just one of those rising stars that every club will be looking at.”

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Gakpo is reportedly available for £43m in January, though that fee may be rising with each game he plays at the World Cup. In addition to two goals for his country, the 23-year-old has nine goals in 14 Eredivisie games this season and three in five Europa League appearances, while also registering 14 assists in the two competitions.

Former Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong insisted that “real talent” Gakpo is filling in the gap left by Memphis Depay for Holland, as the Barcelona man and ex-United winger has been recovering from injury.

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“He’s a real talent,” De Jong told ITV. “It was a great pass from [Nathan] Ake here, this is what we like to see from Dutch football – breaking the lines.

“Brilliant touch, a little bit self-inflicted from Ecuador but it was a great strike from a difficult angle as well. This is the man in form for the Dutch team right now, especially when Memphis Depay is not fully fit yet.

“We’ve got to have the creativity from other players and they’ve got to step up to the occasion, and Gakpo is doing that in back-to-back games.”

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