PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo has confirmed that Manchester United pulled out of a deal to sign him in the final week of the transfer window.

The Dutchman claims he was first made aware of the Red Devils’ interest at the start of the summer but the club then stepped away from making an official approach:

“At the start of the window, United registered their interest but not very strongly, so I was waiting for a bit, and then the end was approaching and the signals became more positive. I started thinking it could fall that way eventually. The interest faded last week, so the whole window I worked towards that and then it faded.”

It’s very likely that Gakpo was only ever seen as a backup option for Antony. When an agreement was reached to sign the Brazilian from Ajax, it was then decided that United wouldn’t pursue another wide player.

A number of other Premier League clubs were also said to be keen on Gakpo, including the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool, but it is believed that Southampton and Leeds were the two teams closest to doing a deal on deadline day.

The Saints had reportedly even agreed a fee in the region of £25m for the Netherlands international, which was much lower than PSV’s original asking price. Ultimately, though, Gakpo stayed with his current team.