Manchester United allegedly agreed personal terms with PSV Eindhoven attacker Cody Gakpo over the summer, only for the Netherlands international to remain with his Eredivisie club.
The 23-year-old was strongly linked with the Red Devils in the latter stages of the recent transfer market, but the English giants ultimately prioritised a move for Brazilian attacker Antony from Ajax.
According to The Athletic, Man United agreed personal terms with Gakpo, but the Red Devils did not launch an official bid for the Dutchman.
The forward has been in impressive form for PSV during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring nine times and registering six assists in 12 appearances in all competitions.
Gakpo recently admitted that he thought he would be joining Man United over the summer, telling PSV TV: "Manchester United had reported at the beginning of the transfer window. We were waiting for that a bit.
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"The signals became more and more positive and at a certain point I thought it might fall in that direction. That option faded a bit and completely last week. We worked the whole window towards it. Until last week I thought I would go to Manchester United.
"I spoke to the national coach (Louis van Gaal). I called him and asked for advice. The advice was clear: that I had to follow my gut feeling, but that a transfer before the World Cup is not really ideal for the player, because then you have to get used to something. I agreed with him.
"It was all last minute for me, because until last week I thought I was going to Manchester [United]. Then it was 'choose another club' and decide whether I wanted to go there. That is not nice for PSV and also not for me, because it felt rushed."
Southampton and Leeds United were also linked with Gakpo late in the summer window, and there is again expected to be interest in his services at the start of 2023.
"I'm glad it's over. For me it was the first window where it was stay or go," the attacker added. "In the last week it was looking at what was the right thing to do. I feel at home here, in my own city.
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"Everyone knows how I feel here. But of course there are other things at play and I think you should have all the options. I did that too. In the end, PSV came up with a good offer that seemed to be the right choice."
Meanwhile, PSV director John de Jong also believed that Gakpo would join the 20-time English champions over the summer.
De Jong told Voetbal International: "Manchester United signed up at the beginning of the transfer period. They expressed their interest. But after that, it took a long time.
"In the end, as management, we had talks with United between the games against Rangers. Then it seemed to get more concrete, but that faded and at the end of the window the option to sell him to United was no longer there."
Man United ultimately signed six players over the summer, bringing in Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Antony and Martin Dubravka.
Matt Law
