Gakpo has further enhanced his burgeoning reputation with three goals in the World Cup in Qatar with a host of clubs interested in bringing him to the Premier League.
Ten Hag discussed a move to United with the 23-year-old during the summer transfer window with the club eventually opting to sign Antony from Ajax in a £85million deal. Interest remains, however, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit heightening the need for more firepower in the second-half of the season.
Brown, who won 11 major honours under Sir Alex Ferguson between 1999 and 2011, is wary of how difficult deals can be to get across the line January but believes Gakpo is the right fit for ten Hag’s project.
‘He’s a big strong lad, he has great feet,’ Brown told Metro.co.uk on behalf of Bet365. ‘It is a tough one, the obvious players are all at top clubs. But he is someone you could look at, he could easily fit into the way the manager plays.
‘There is a space there to be filled and I’m pretty sure the manager will be looking at him. I just think in January, it is hard. You can pick people up but is it the guy you really want? Which you have got to be careful of.’
Marcus Rashford, Antony and youngster Alejandro Garnacho have been United’s biggest attacking threats this season but Jadon Sancho has struggled for form despite a bright start to the campaign.
The former Borussia Dortmund star was dropped from the starting XI in October and was sidelined through illness in the final games before the World Cup break, with reports suggesting ten Hag has demanded more commitment from the 22-year-old.
Having been left out of England’s World Cup squad, Sancho is among the players looking to use the period to force his way back into the manager’s thinking, reportedly working with coaches recommended by ten Hag during a recent training visit to Netherlands.
While warning that Sancho needs to be at the same level as the likes of Rashford and Garnacho, Brown believes ten Hag is still committed to bringing the best out of the player.
‘He was a bit like this last season but the back end of the season I think he was one of our best players,’ Brown said. ‘He has not played for a while now and obviously you have got Garnacho coming in so there is a lot of competition.
‘Players go through phases and it is a good sign that the manager is involved in the situation and helping him. Football players are humans too, it might be something on the pitch, something off it, but ultimately the team is there.
‘They will try help in any way and the manager is doing that. I was young once, and you need that support around you especially when things are tough, you don’t play well every game and it does look like he needs a pick-me-up.
‘The way the wingers, Antony, Garnacho and Rashford have all played, Sancho might have had more game time but they are just playing so well.
‘He needs to be on that same level or better and when you’re not, you are not going to play as much. So the manager will be putting the work in getting him focused again. We all know he has got the ability to do it.’
MORE : Rio Ferdinand fears Man Utd have already made huge Cody Gakpo mistake
MORE : ‘There will be offers’ – Joe Cole predicts Manchester United and Arsenal will have to pay up to £80m for Cody Gakpo
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