Manchester United are said to be lining up an extraordinary move to sign long-term West Ham United target Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa in the January transfer window.
According to the Mirror, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is prepared to offload £85 million flop Antony to Flamengo in exchange for West Ham target Gabriel Barbosa.
READ ALSO: 23-yo Man United star joining West Ham on loan in January would make perfect sense for all parties
Hammers boss David Moyes has been linked with a move to sign the 27-year-old Brazilian hitman since he returned to the club in December 2019, and most recently last summer.
Can you imagine how much more potent we’d be now if Moyes had signed Gabigol? The prolific goalscorer would have complimented the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus perfectly.
Maybe all’s not as it seems though, and there are no guarantees that he would succeed in England.
West Ham fans might get to see Barbosa in the Premier League, but not playing in the claret and blue…
Manchester United willing to offload mega-money player to sign long-term West Ham target Gabriel Barbosa
Man United signed Antony from Ajax in the summer of 2022 for around £85 million (The Sun). The 23-year-old has been a huge flop at Old Trafford though, with just eight goals and three assists in 54 games to his name (Transfermarkt).
And it seems as though Ten Hag is already prepared to let the Brazilian winger go, in order to bring in a proven goalscorer this winter – Gabriel Barbosa.
Jorge Nicola claimed that he could be available for around £26 million – that sounds like decent value for money to me.
Barbosa has racked up 139 goals and 39 assists in 246 games for the Brazilian giants. This season, he’s bagged 18 goals and four assists in 54 games (Transfermarkt).
The Brazilian is a proven goalscorer and that is exactly what both West Ham and Manchester United need at the moment.
However, there have been accusations that the striker isn’t the most hard-working, and doesn’t commit to training sessions as much as he should.
Former Inter boss Frank de Boer didn’t hold back when discussing Gabigol’s time at the San Siro, as quoted by The Mirror:
“Inter bought him for €35 million. I didn’t know much about him, but they told me he was a fantastic player. He thought he could do everything while standing still, playing indoor football. They called him Gabigol, but we called him ‘Gabi-no-gol.’ He joined us with two personal social media editors and a bodyguard but didn’t do anything.”
Well, that’s hardly a ringing endorsement is it!
If Manchester United really are prepared to exchange Antony for Gabriel Barbosa, it shows just how lowly he is regarded at Old Trafford.
To offer a player they paid £85 million for in exchange for a 27-year-old striker with alleged attitude problems really shows just how desperate Ten Hag and Man United are right now – it really would be an extraordinary move.
It remains to be seen whether or not West Ham will regret missing out on Gabigol though.
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