Brian Brobbey has confirmed that ‘Erik ten Hag called me’ about a potential move to Manchester United before the striker left RB Leipzig and returned to Ajax in the summer of 2022.
If reports are to be believed, Brian Brobbey may be picking up the phone to the Manchester United boss again pretty soon.
Ten Hag is supposedly keen to work with a striker who won two Eredivisie titles under his stewardship at the Johan Cruyff Arena, the Dutchman retaining his own transfer targets despite INEOS’ long-awaited overhaul of footballing operations at Old Trafford.
Manchester United like Brian Brobbey
Brobbey is averaging a goal every other game – 12 in 24 appearances – for an Ajax side performing well below their usual standards this season.
This, interestingly, is the broad-shouldered Dutchman’s second spell at the Amsterdam giants. He returned to Ajax for a cool £17 million after making only nine Bundesliga appearances during an unhappy stint at RB Leipzig.
“Manchester United wanted me,” Brobbey now tells De Telegraaf. “But I really wanted to return to Ajax permanently. To make this possible, my agent Jose Fortes Rodriguez even waived his hefty re-sale percentage.
“Erik ten Hag called me. At United, Jose could have got his millions of euros. And I could have earned a multiple of my Ajax salary.
“But our decision was made. We wanted to go to Ajax.”
It remains to be seen how Brobbey reacts to Manchester United’s advances should the Red Devils try again in the coming months. According to The Mirror, one of the most physically-imposing forwards in Europe – Brobbey has been labelled ‘better’ with his back to goal than even Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – is one of Ten Hag’s top targets for the summer window, by which point Anthony Martial’s contract will have expired.
Erik ten Hag wants reunion with Ajax striker
“Brobbey uses his body really well,” former Eredivisie and Serie A centre-back Bram Nuytinck told Voetbal International in December. “I had played against a lot of strong strikers in Italy. Lukaku, (Edin) Dzeko, Ibrahimovic, you name it.
“But the way Brobbey uses his body might be even better than those guys. I honestly mean that. Brobbey is also really fast and sometimes looks to run in behind. That makes him more special.
“I am one hundred per cent sure that Brobbey could also do this in Serie A.”
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