Erik ten Hag sees January target snub Man Utd for second time with WhatsApp jibe
Brian Brobbey has dismissed the suggestion he would leave Ajax for Manchester United this month, claiming he doesn’t speak to Erik ten Hag anymore.
Brobbey is a transfer target for United due to his connection with his former Ajax manager and his impressive goalscoring form. The 21-year-old striker has 13 goals and four assists in 25 matches across all competitions this season after netting twice in a 4-1 win over RKC Waalwijk on Sunday.
Reports over the weekend said he had been in contact with Ten Hag and would be ready to swap Amsterdam for Manchester and provide competition for Rasmus Hojlund up front. However, speaking to the press after his impressive performance, which did see him miss a penalty for a hat-trick, Brobbey shot down the rumours.
“I am not in contact with Erik ten Hag anymore,” he said plainly. “We used to text through Whatsapp, but I think Erik is busy. I have a new number as well, so..." This isn’t the first time that Brobbey has pushed back against the idea of joining United.
There is history between the two parties. Despite telling ESPN in September 2022 that he wanted to play at United one day, he had actually snubbed the chance to move there in the preceding months. United were ready to pay RB Leipzig’s £16million asking price that summer, but Brobbey chose to rejoin Ajax instead.
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"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,” he explained. “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."
Brian Brobbey is in good goalscoring form for Ajax (ANP via Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Brian Brobbey the kind of player Manchester United need? Comment below.
Brobbey is now established as a first-choice striker at Ajax, but his history with the club hasn’t always been so straightforward. He chose to move to Leipzig in July 2021 after claiming Ajax had broken promises to him.
“Ajax promised me that no new striker would be brought in and suddenly there was Sebastien Haller, the most expensive purchase ever,” he said. “I didn't even mind that so much. But being told that I would basically not get to play made me angry.
“Then Julian Nagelsmann had such a good story that I honestly thought I would get minutes at Leipzig. Even before the season started, Nagelsmann and the technical director who had brought me in, Markus Krosche, had left the club.”
After coming back on loan, Brobbey returned to Ajax on a permanent basis in the summer of 2022 and has settled again. He has 40 goals and 11 assists in 101 appearances for the club and appears settled, despite Ajax’s poor campaign which sees them sit fifth in the Eredivisie.
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