Manchester United were out of the market.
The transfer has already been announced. PSVbut Liverpool are silent
Well-known football insider Fabrizio Romano revealed on December 26 at 12:47 Moscow time that Manchester United are close to signing Cody Gakpo to a contract and agreeing to a transfer with PSV. After 8 hours average they were excited by new information: the transfer of Gakpo agreed between the Dutch club and Liverpool. The Merseysiders overcame their arch-rivals and took the main goal Manchester United yourself.
Cody was in high demand in the transfer market – he was approached by Chelsea and there were serious talks with United but they were postponed indefinitely. Gakpo said:
I was close to transitioning in the summer. We spoke to Ten Hag several times. As a result, the transaction did not take place and this upset me, why Manchester United one of the biggest clubs in the world.
For the first time, Liverpool showed interest in Gakpo in April, and already in October, Dutch journalists received information that Jurgen Klopp’s assistant Pep Leinders convinced the coach of the need to sign Cody. According to him, the striker was the team’s missing link. The final decision on the acquisition of a football player was made after the World Cup in Qatar. It seems that his play has only strengthened the beliefs of Pep Linders.
Apparently, Dutch national team captain Virgil van Dijk also played an important role. According to Romano, Virgil had conversations with Cody at the World Championships. Furthermore, Gakpo will initially stay with van Dyck until he finds accommodation in Merseyside. And, apparently, Virgil knew about the impending move in advance:
I hope the injured players can return soon but we also expect new players to join our club. I think the upper class is always welcome at Liverpool.
Didn’t last even two hours as general manager PSV said the Dutch and English would not reveal the player’s transfer fee but indicated the sale would be a record for PSV. Management completed all the paperwork on Boxing Day and gave permission for Cody to go to England.
Despite this, the approximate cost of the transfer still appeared in the hands of journalists. Liverpool insiders say the club will pay £37m, with a further £8m to be paid in bonuses. The value of the deal is amazing considering how Cody handled the last World Cup. A medical examination and the announcement of the signing of a personal contract are expected in the near future.
The fight of giants for Gakpo was expected
Cody Gakpo’s talent has become known to the general public during the past season. In the previous campaign, the player showed high performance, playing for PSVand participated in 34 goals in 46 games.
This season, Cody is also playing hard – he is the best player in the top 7 European leagues in terms of goals + passing – 31 effective actions in 24 matches in all tournaments for PSV. Behind him were Haaland, Mbappe, Messi and the others.
Add to that an impressive performance at the World Cup. The player became the leader of the Oranje attack and one of the main factors in the national team’s exit from the group. He opened the scoring three times in matches: with Senegal (2-0), Ecuador (1-1) and Qatar (2-0). Moreover, all three balls were scored by different limbs: the left and right legs, as well as the head.
Cody Gakpo became Louis van Gaal’s main hope in the last third of the field. In addition to participating in the final bets, Gakpo contributes to the distribution of the ball together with Frankie De Jong. Gakpo’s position in the national team is under two strikers. Often it was Bergwijn and Depay.
Speaking in the position of a free ten in the national team, the Dutchman moves between the opposition’s defensive lines and along the entire front of the attack. There is often a trinity of interchangeability to confuse the opponent – this is often the case at Liverpool.
IN PSV Gakpo played the left wing position, which, given his height, may raise logical questions. Cody’s height is 189 centimeters, which does not prevent him from meeting all standards, both in the club and in the national team. The Dutchman has an impressive crossing accuracy percentage of 44.8%.
In addition to the ability to deliver an accurate pass from distance, Gakpo has excellent dribbling across his skill spectrum, which relies on power and speed. Cody himself said he took Thierry Henry as an example:
Like me, Thierry Henry liked to start as a left winger. Usually the players in my position are not very tall: Overmars, Robben. Therefore, I studied many videos with Henri, analyzed his mannerisms, movements, moments of discovery – I tried to adopt everything.
Gakpo is ready to move to a top club and Liverpool will definitely need him
If before the start of the current season there were doubts about the level of Cody’s game and his readiness to leave Eindhoven, then after a fantastic start and excellent performances at the World Cup it became obvious that he was ready.
Performances under Louis van Gaal made Gakpo an even more versatile player, highly regarded by Jurgen Klopp. Most Liverpool players are capable of playing in multiple positions at once and it is to be expected that the Dutchman will be used in a variety of roles.
The most important thing in bringing Cody up when he moves to Liverpool is playing off the ball. Also in PSV he often had questions about defensive play, but they weren’t that relevant due to the Dutch club’s dominant football. In England it will be different: Liverpool start the defense very high up and the first players in charge of this have always been the forwards. Sports director PSV John de Jong commented:
Compared to players like Mane or Salah, Gakpo still has a lot to learn. They are not only great players, but also outstanding pressing and defending workers: Gakpo must be added to that.
However, Liverpool needed a striker right now – Jota and Diaz were out for a long time, Firmino was going to miss several games, and only Salah and Nunez would remain healthy. Jurgen Klopp also spoke about the importance of signing before the Aston Villa match:
Last January we signed Diaz, who helped in the second half of the season. It would be nice to do something like this if it has a positive effect.
As Cody is a very versatile player it is to be expected he will patch a hole in the left flank of Liverpool’s attack early on, but in time it is entirely possible to fix the club’s line-up with Cody moving into tenth position .
When the rest of the forwards are ready, it is quite possible to switch to a 4-2-3-1, because the club will have an overabundance of forwards. In addition to signing Gakpo, Liverpool intend to extend the contract with Bobby Firmino and if successful, the team will have 6 high-quality attacking players.
