Manchester United given green light to complete 'priority' signing: report

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag arrives for the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester United at St. James Park on December 02, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester United could make a huge new "priority" signing, after receiving a green light to proceed with the move. 

The Red Devils are yet to sign a player this month, with financial restrictions hanging over them – despite the investment of Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The INEOS billionaire has acquired a 25 per cent stake in the club and expects the partial takeover to be ratified next month

But with Manchester United languishing down the table, there are areas of improvement that manager Erik ten Hag wants to make – and players who have been targeted to fulfill roles across the side.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS meets Manager Erik Ten Hag of Manchester United in the staff restaurant at Carrington Training Complex on January 03, 2024 in Manchester, England.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has recently acquired a stake in Manchester United (Image credit: Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)

According to Football Insider, Ajax frontman Brian Brobbey would "jump at the chance" to move to Old Trafford, giving the OK to United to pursue a move for him.

According to the report, United see signing a striker as a priority, despite having shelled out big money for Rasmus Hojlund over the summer. Ten Hag is apparently a big fan of Brobbey, who moved from the Amsterdammers to RB Leipzig and back under the Dutch manager. 

The admission from Brobbey is most likely correct, with the 21-year-old having previously told ESPN.nl via Voetbal Primeur that the 20-time English champions were his dream club. But recent comments have come out from the striker claiming that he's already rejected a reunion with Ten Hag. 

Ajax forward Brian Brobbey

Ajax forward Brian Brobbey is being linked with Manchester United once more (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Erik ten Hag called me and said that at United, my agent would get millions of euros and I could earn a multiple of my Ajax salary,” Brobbey said. “But our decision was clear: we wanted to go to Ajax.

"Manchester United wanted to have me, but I insisted on returning to Ajax. To make that possible, my agent Jose Fortes Rodriguez even waived a hefty percentage of the sell-on clause.”

Brobbey is valued at €15 million by Transfermarkt

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Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.