The price tag that PSV places on the Belgian is higher than the amount for which he could have left a year ago, says general manager Marcel Brands. The English Brentford was then prepared to transfer at least 35 million euros for the winger, but next summer that amount will not be sufficient to lure the international away from the upcoming champions of the Netherlands.
Last season, when Ruud van Nistelrooy was still PSV coach, Bakayoko finally broke into the Eindhoven team’s first team. He played 39 games in all competitions, scoring nine times and providing six assists. In the following summer, Brentford was very concrete in the market for the Belgian in the final days of the transfer period: Mark Flek’s employer offered 35 million euros, an amount that could rise to 40 million through bonuses. However, the player ultimately opted for a longer stay in the Netherlands.
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This season, Bakayoko has only become more important for PSV under Van Nistelrooij’s successor Peter Bosz. Partly due to injuries to competitors such as Noa Lang and Hirving Lozano and the interim departure of compatriot Yorbe Vertessen, the winger had a starting place almost every week and has now scored thirteen goals plus another fourteen assists in 45 matches. In addition, the eleven-time international seems almost certain to participate in the European Championship with Belgium, which is paired with Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine in the group stage.
In Good morning Eredivisie Brands said on Sunday morning that he could imagine that Bakayoko will take a step next summer. “If a very big club comes, will you say ‘no’?”, the general manager wonders out loud. Mario Been mentions an interesting option: “Liverpool, Salah is leaving.”, to which Brands nods in agreement. Hans Kraay junior starts about the transfer fee: “But they no longer have to come for Brentford’s price, he can’t be bought for 35 million?”, which Brands confirms: “No.”
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