Man Utd set to take advantage of PSV ‘issues’ to land in-demand World Cup star

Manchester United have reportedly ‘stolen a march’ on Premier League rivals Newcastle United, Leeds United and Arsenal after entering into talks to sign PSV Eindhoven’s in-demand forward Cody Gakpo.

The Netherlands international was said to be on the radar of a whole host of clubs around Europe after shining throughout the first half of the Eredivise season. Gakpo had scored 13 goals and provided a remarkable 17 assists in 24 appearances in all competitions as he earned a starting place for his country at the World Cup Finals.

Gakpo would go on to further enhance his glowing reputation in Qatar as he found the net in group stage games against Senegal, Ecuador and Qatar before impressing once again in a round of 16 win against the United States. However, the 23-year-old was unable to prevent Louis van Gaal’s side from falling to a penalty shoot-out defeat in the quarter-final clash with eventual winners Argentina.

Gakpo’s future was the subject of intense speculation during the tournament and the forward addressed the transfer talk following the win against the United States, saying: “After (I will decide my future). I’m not thinking about that now. I’m just really focused on the tournament, trying to keep performing well and helping the team and hopefully when we become world champions then I can think about that. No (it's not been hard to concentrate given the speculation), not really. I’m just trying to keep focused and the other players don’t really talk about those things which also helps me in this situation.”

He has now returned to his club but his time with the Dutch giants could be set to come to an end as United look to make a move for the forward in the January transfer window. The Mirror have claimed the Red Devils have ‘opened talks’ over a £40m deal after learning of ‘looming financial problems’ at PSV, with Gakpo said to be ‘happy to help prevent his hometown club from a crisis’ by handing them a financial boost and accepting a move away.