Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has reportedly been left 'frustrated' by Liverpool seemingly winning the race to sign Cody Gakpo.
Talks between the Reds and PSV recently reached an advanced stage, having significantly stepped up in recent days. The ECHO understands the initial fee will be around the £37m figure with add-ons likely to take the deal well past the £40m mark.
Such news will come as a blow to United, who looked set to sign Gakpo as a long-term Cristiano Ronaldo replacement. The player himself has confirmed a deal was close last summer and that he spoke to Ten Hag "a few times".
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A major factor in a potential United move was believed to be Ten Hag, whose Dutch connections could well have influenced the 23-year-old to choose Old Trafford as his new home. The Red Devils' boss shares an agent with Gakpo, though this appears to have proven irrelevant on this occasion due to an inability to match Liverpool's financial package presented.
A latest report by ESPN has claimed United did not submit an official bid for Gakpo due to financial restraints, on the back of a summer outlay which surpassed the £200million mark. While understood to be 'sympathetic' to this situation, it is understood Ten Hag has informed the club of his disappointment the current Eredivisie top-scorer is Anfield-bound.
Should Gakpo successfully complete a transfer to Liverpool, as is expected to occur, this would represent a second individual in the space of six months to have been strongly linked with United - only to then become a member of Jurgen Klopp's side.
Indeed, the Mirror suggested in May Ten Hag identified Darwin Nunez as a 'priority target', though it was the Reds who got a deal over the line for the Uruguay international.
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