By Pranav Shahaney

11th Apr, 2022 | 9:46pm

Manchester United mooted to get essential backing from Erik ten Hag to sign Cody Gakpo

Manchester United may get much-needed backing from managerial favourite Erik ten Hag to sign PSV Eindhoven attacker Cody Gakpo this summer.

According to The Sun, the Dutchman is the favourite to take over the Old Trafford hot seat and could turn to some of his players at Ajax to kick-start the rebuild at his new club.

Gakpo, 22, has been imperative to the Eredivisie leaders’ impressive performances this season and ten Hag is believed to be keen on bringing him to Manchester should he be named the next manager.

Despite being in his early 20s, he’s had six years of experience at the senior level, making his professional debut at the age of 16.

Moving to PSV came with its own set of pressure, but Gakpo quickly adapted to the Dutch game and excelled in his first season at the Eindhoven outfit, even scoring on his debut for them.

However, the Dutchman really made a name for himself in the 2019/20 campaign when he scored seven goals and provided as many assists in 25 league games.

He then did the same in the following season and was then called up to the Netherlands’ Euro 2020 squad where he made an appearance off the bench.

While he does not have a working relationship with ten Hag, the Ajax boss has watched him closely and could lure him to Old Trafford.

He’s a well-respected manager in the Netherlands and it surely would be the dream of players like Gakpo to play under him.

In other football wonderkid stories, Brandon Williams admits that he no plans to return to Manchester United to sit on the bench.