Aheed Abrar
Liverpool beat Manchester United to £37 million signing of PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo
Premier League rivals Liverpool have beaten Manchester United to the signing of PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands star Cody Gakpo, according to ESPN.
The Merseyside outfit will pay around £37 million for the Holland international’s signature. Jurgen Klopp’s team are close to finalising the forward’s arrival in the upcoming transfer window.
The Eredivisie outfit have not disclosed the fee for the deal to part ways with the 23-year-old. However, the Red and Whites director of football, Marcel Brands, said it would be a “record transfer”.
Erik ten Hag pushed to bring Gakpo to the Old Trafford side in the summer of 2022. Ahead of January, the Red Devils were looking to reignite their interest in the Holland international after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure.
The 37-year-old left the Manchester-based club just before the start of the 2022 World Cup. His untimely exit has dwindled the Dutch manager’s options in the attack.
Liverpool also seemingly have a forward crisis. Klopp will be without Luis Diaz for a considerable time after the Colombian picked up a knee injury. It looks like the Merseysiders have beaten us to another signing after pipping Darwin Nunez from SL Benfica in January.
Gakpo has been in fine form since last season. But the Holland international has taken his game to the next level in the current campaign, scoring 13 goals and providing 17 assists in 24 appearances in all competitions for PSV.
The 23-year-old also shone for the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup, scoring in every group-stage fixture. However, the Oranje lost to eventual champions Argentina in the quarter-finals.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United forward Anthony Elanga has ‘admirers’ at Everton with loan move touted
- Marko Arnautovic claims Manchester United wanted to sign him in 2016 under Jose Mourinho
- Manchester United could revisit signing Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting on a free transfer
With Gakpo set to join our rivals, United evidently need to strengthen as well to put up a strong fight for a top-four spot. It remains to be seen who the Red Devils will pursue after missing out on the Holland international.
