KEY POINTS

  • Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to leave Man Utd next year
  • He is into the final year of his current contract
  • Cody Gakpo's current contract is until 2026

Manchester United are reportedly still interested in signing PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo. The club that tried signing Gakpo throughout the 2022 summer window is now preparing to land Gakpo in the next 12 months, reported Forbes.

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to leave next year which would free up space on the wage bill. The Red Devils would need to bring in a new attacker as Ronaldo's replacement and Gakpo is one of the club's top targets, according to Goal.com.

Gakpo's current contract with Eindhoven is until 2026. It is understood that Manchester United were close to agreeing to personal terms with the young Dutch winger, but they never made a former bid with Eindhoven.

Earlier this month Eindhoven's Chief executive officer Marcel Brands admitted, "Cody had a difficult preparation with us because he has spoken with Manchester United. They didn't come until mid-August and it didn't go through."

During the 2022 summer market, Manchester United were briefly convinced they could manage to sign both Antony and Gakpo ahead of the 2022-23 season. The Red Devils initially expected to sign Antony for $54 million, meaning, the club would still have around $27 million for Gakpo.

However, that changed when Ajax kept increasing their asking price for Brazil striker Antony. Eventually, Manchester United spent $94 million to secure Antony from the Amsterdam-based club on a five-year contract.

Earlier this month, even Gakpo admitted he was in talks with Manchester United in the summer.

"At the start of the window, United registered their interest but not very strongly, so I was waiting for a bit, and then the end was approaching and the signals became more positive. I started thinking it could fall that way eventually," Gakpo said in an interview.

Cody Gakpo (L) is congratulated by Virgil van Dijk after putting the Netherlands ahead away in Poland
Cody Gakpo is a part of PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team AFP

The 23-year-old winger also revealed about speaking to other Premier League clubs but then decided to stay put at Eindhoven, keeping several factors in mind, including the FIFA World Cup 2022, which is due to begin on Nov. 20 in Qatar.

Gakpo, who joined Eindhoven's academy in 2006, rose through their youth ranks before he made his senior debut with the club during the 2017-18 season. He is one of the upcoming talents in the Eredivisie and has netted 52 goals and provided 42 assists in 148 appearances for the club across all competitions.

The Netherlands left-winger has had a flying start to the 2022-23 season as he has already netted 10 goals and nine assists in 13 competitive matches for Eindhoven. Out of the 10 goals, eight have come in Eredivisie, the Dutch top-flight.