Brian Brobbey admits rejecting Man Utd after Erik ten Hag text
By Tom Gott
Ajax striker Brian Brobbey has confirmed he rejected the chance to link up with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United this summer.
The 20-year-old left swapped Ajax for RB Leipzig on a free transfer last summer but has now returned to Amsterdam, where he previously made waves as a teenager, for a fee of around £15m.
It was under Ten Hag that Brobbey first broke through at Ajax during the 2020/21 campaign, and the young striker has now revealed that his former boss sent him a text to try and convince him to head to Manchester for a reunion this summer.
"I absolutely wanted to go to Ajax," he told Voetbal International. "Erik also wanted to work with me, texted once if I was open to it, but I thanked him nicely. I wanted to go back. My friends here, Ajax's playing style, it just wasn't finished yet.
"I first have to really succeed here as a striker of Ajax. That's also how the past six months felt, when I played here on a rental basis. I really had the feeling afterwards: I really have to go back. Believe me, in a few years I will provide a nice transfer fee for Ajax and then the club will have made a nice profit.
"There are more good players who play striker: Dusan Tadic, Steven Bergwijn, Davy Klaassen, Lorenzo Lucca. At the moment I am a basic player, but I just have to perform, with good play and goals. Then the trainer can't ignore me and I start in the team."
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Since returning to Ajax, Brobbey has racked up one goal and two assists in four games in all competitions.
As for United, the return of Anthony Martial from his loan with Sevilla has been the only attacking reinforcement this summer, with the Red Devils still working on a number of deals.
A move for Bologna's Marko Arnautovic ultimately collapsed, but United have now reignited their pursuit of primary target Antony, who has played alongside Brobbey at Ajax this season. PSV Eindhoven's Gody Gakpo also remains an option.