Manchester United to follow Antony addition from Ajax by signing Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven – Paper Round

Manchester United are closing in on the £84-million signing of Antony from Ajax, but the Mirror report that the Red Devils are still in the hunt for PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo. United are said to be interested in the 23-year-old and the Dutch side are bracing themselves ahead of an expected late bid. PSV have already lined up Aston Villa forward Anwar El Ghazi as a replacement for Gakpo, who they believe will leave for Old Trafford before the transfer window slams shut on Thursday.

Paper Round’s view: Better late than never. Manchester United had a pretty quiet summer but were forced to accelerate their business in the transfer market after falling to embarrassing defeats against Brighton and Brentford in their opening two Premier League matches. New manager Erik ten Hag has got back-to-back wins now against Liverpool and Southampton, but his squad is still looking like it needs a bit more of an injection of quality in attack. Antony and Gakpo would add some class to the wide areas and provide competition with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga.

Chelsea are hoping to add some depth to their attacking options before the transfer window closes on Thursday and the Evening Standard report that the Blues are considering a move for Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha. The west London club have held long-term interest in Zaha but are reported to have prioritised potential deals for Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Everton youngster Anthony Gordon. The Standard state that Zaha is being viewed as an “intriguing late alternative” if Chelsea fail to agree transfers with their top two targets.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea have pretty much completed their defensive signings after adding Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella, while it is expected that Wesley Fofana will join from Leicester City too. It’s time for the Blues to turn their attention to their attack. Raheem Sterling bagged a brace in the 2-1 win over Leicester on Saturday, but there is still something missing from their strike force. Someone like Aubameyang is needed, while you don’t really need both Gordon and Zaha. This is probably why Zaha is only viewed as a back-up option.

Tottenham duo Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks are both set to leave the north London club before the transfer window shuts. The pair have been exiled from the first-team squad since the summer and the Evening Standard reveals that they will both be leaving on loan. Reguilon is set to return to Spain, with a season-long loan move to Atletico Madrid on the cards, while Winks will join Sampdoria – despite initial reports stating that he would reject the Serie A side in order to stay in the Premier League.

Paper Round’s view: It could be argued that the toughest part of the transfer window is trying to get rid of your deadwood. We have seen clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United struggle with this in the past… and present. The pair may only be leaving Spurs on a temporary basis, but it should allow them to rediscover their form and attract further interest next summer. It also means that Tottenham aren’t paying their wages this season and there are no longer any exiled players who are training away from the first team. This should improve morale around the squad.

Brazilian club Sao Paulo are set to profit after Manchester United edge closer to completing the signing of Antony from Ajax this week. The Premier League side have agreed a deal worth £84 million to sign the 22-year-old, but the Mirror reveal that a transfer clause between Sao Paulo and Ajax may have been a factor behind the whopping asking price. 20 percent of the transfer fee will be given to Sao Paulo due to a clause agreed between the two parties when Antony moved to the Eredivisie back in 2020. It is reported that the Brazilian side also profited from a similar clause when Casemiro completed his transfer to United last week.

Paper Round’s view: Sao Paulo are basically now being funded by Manchester United. First Casemiro, and now Antony. It’s huge fractions of two massive transfer fees. The Brazilian club will be loving it. They sold two players years ago and are still profiting from their sales. We might see more clubs sticking bigger sell-on clauses in future when selling any promising youngsters.