Premier League giants Manchester United are considering Johan Bakayoko but the PSV Eindhoven winger is not ‘worth 40 or 50 million’ with a pair of former Dutch international’s yet to be convinced.
It’s fair to say that, when it comes to players brought to England from the Eredivisie, the track record is patchy to say the least.
And with the likes of Cody Gakpo, Noni Madueke, Memphis Depay and Manchester United’s £82 million benchwarmer Antony struggling to live up to their considerable price-tags in the modern era, such success stories as Luis Suarez and Ruud van Nistelrooy are have been relatively few and far between of late.
And with United reportedly keeping tabs on Johan Bakayoko – per Sport1 – which camp would the balletic Belgian fall into? Another Van Nistelrooy-style triumph? Or the second coming of Antony?
Rafael Van der Vaart, former Tottenham, Ajax and Real Madrid playmaker, is leaning towards the former.
Manchester United eye Johan Bakayoko
“Everyone (says Bakayoko is worth) 40 to 50 million euros,” Van der Vaart tells Rondo on Ziggo Sport. “But he is very predictable. I think someone like Noni Madueke is much better.”
Bakayoko replaced Madueke at PSV following the latter’s £29 million move to Chelsea in January 2023. And considering that Madueke has struggled to nail down a starting spot even at a poor Chelsea outfit, you can see why Van der Vaart would have serious reservations about the prospect of a player he considers an inferior talent following in his footsteps with a move to England.
Bakayoko has eight goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Eredivisie champions-elect PSV. But it has not gone unnoticed by Khalid Boulahrouz that Bakayoko’s performances have dipped alarmingly when up against better-quality full-backs, the 20-year-old producing a worryingly profligate display during PSV’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Borussia Dortmund a few weeks back.
‘Don’t think he’s worth 40 million’
“He can do it all against mediocre defenders,” ex-Chelsea stopper Boulahrouz argues. “But if he is against a defender who can compete with him, who is quick, skilled and agile, for example (Dortmund’s) Ian Maatsen, then he opts for certainty (and loses his unpredictability).
“I don’t think he’s worth 40 or 50 million either.”
With Man United’s new Ineos decision-makers reportedly prioritising players with a proven track record in the Premier League – Jarrad Branthwaite, for instance – one suspects that Bakayoko is likely to be seen as a back-up behind another left-footed right-winger in Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise.
Olise, who reportedly has a £60 million release clause in his contract, is a Man United fan, and would allegedly choose the Red Devils over a host of other options.
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