Man United tracking Ajax’s Brobbey but January deal unlikely،
Manchester United are looking for Dutch striker Brian Brobbey, but the chances of a January deal are being downplayed, a source has told ESPN.
United manager Erik ten Hag had been keen to sign Brobbey from former club Ajax since his first summer at Old Trafford.
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Inquiries have been made into his availability in 2022, but the club have spent their budget on other targets, including Brazilian winger Antony.
Ten Hag is still interested in Brobbey, who has scored 15 goals for Ajax this season, and although he would like to strengthen his squad in January, he has been told that finances, particularly for permanent contracts, remain tight.
The Netherlands international would cover for Rasmus Højlund and Marcus Rashford while Anthony Martial, who is suffering from a hip injury, is expected to stay in January despite the club's willingness to listen to offers.
However, Brobbey, who scored twice in Ajax's 4-1 win over RKC Waalwijk on Sunday, played down reports of a move to United in January in a press conference after -match.
“I’m just going to stay in Amsterdam,” Brobbey said. “I think Erik [ten Hag] has someone else in mind now. I also have a different phone number.”
United are ready to sign this month if an opportunity arises, but their main focus in this window has been to ease their financial problems ahead of the summer.
The club has already sanctioned a number of releases, including Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek, Sergio Reguilón, Hannibal Mejbri, Álvaro Fernández, Joe Hugill and Mateo Mejia.
With Martial set to leave on a free transfer this summer, United are considering signing another striker, and Brobbey is likely to be part of the conversation, particularly if Ten Hag stays as manager after an overhaul led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS .
The British billionaire made his first major appointment since agreeing to buy a 25% stake with Saturday's announcement of Omar Berrada as CEO following his resignation as chief operating officer football at Manchester City.
United are yet to announce Berrada's start date and are still waiting for Ratcliffe's deal to be ratified by the Premier League. Ratcliffe and his team are awaiting the green light to officially begin work in February.
