‘They really wanted him’: Agent explains why Arsenal didn’t sign £40m man

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Arsenal were hoping to beat Manchester United to the signing of Donny van de Beek but couldn’t afford the £40 million Ajax were asking for, the midfielder’s agent has told Showtime.

While United continue to hit brick walls in their pursuit of Jadon Sancho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be thrilled to see another of Europe’s most exciting young attackers arrive at Old Trafford during arguably the most testing transfer window in history.

Dutch international and 2019 Eredivisie champion Van de Beek has completed a medical as he prepares to swap the biggest club in Holland for arguably the biggest in England (Sky).

But, according to the 23-year-old’s representative, another Premier League party was keen to win the race for Van de Beek’s signature – only for a lack of cash to leave their hopes in tatters.

“Yes, they (Arsenal) really wanted him,” Sjaak Swart told Showtime.

“But they just couldn’t get the money for a transfer. Even the biggest clubs struggle. Arsenal is a great club, but Manchester United will certainly be an interesting adventure.

“There were more clubs with interest, such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal. There were six in total.”

Swart suggested the global pandemic and subsequent financial crisis was the main reason Manchester United were able to get the deal over the line with relative ease.

A natural-born goalscoring midfielder with shades of Frank Lampard and a young Paul Scholes, Van de Beek has hit double figures in each of the past three seasons, netting 17 times as Ajax reached the Champions League semi-final and won the domestic double in 2019.

Joe Willock, with five, was the highest-scoring midfielder at Arsenal last season.