Speculations are all over now as Dutch sensation Cody Gakpo decided to don Liverpool’s Reds, his club PSV has announced.
“PSV and Liverpool have reached an agreement on the proposed transfer of Cody Gakpo,” a statement from the Eredivisie giants read. “The 23-year-old attacker will leave for England imminently, where he will be subjected to the necessary formalities ahead of the completion of the transfer,” it added.
Gakpo has been linked to some of the top clubs in football, including Manchester United and Real Madrid. In fact, the 23-year-old was strongly linked to Manchester United for several months ahead of the season and even now.
Gakpo has himself admitted his displeasure at not joining the Red Devils despite several rounds of discussions. The Red Devils, on the other hand, signed Ajax winger Antony ahead of the season.
While the Devils were again in the news as they looked for a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, they might be left to regret their decision as Antony has not exactly set the house on fire despite an impressive start to the season.
Gakpo emerged as a key player for Dutch star Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV. The dynamic forward has scored nine goals and provided 12 assists in 14 Eredivise games this season.
Gakpo’s 21-goal contributions are the third-highest tally after 14 games in the league since the 1999-2000 season. Only van Nistelrooy (27 in 1999-00) and former Liverpool forward Luis Suarez (25 in 2009-10) have more contributions than Gakpo.
While there is no official confirmation about the fees, reports suggest that Liverpool will pay an initial £37million (€42m) fee for the 23-year-old star, who dazzled with his performance for the Netherlands at the recently concluded World Cup in Qatar.
The statement further added that both clubs would not make an announcement on the fee, but general manager Marcel Brands did say, “This is a record transfer for PSV”. PSV’s previous record was the sale of Hirving Lozano to Napoli for a reported €45m.
If the deal is formalised, Gakpo will boost Juergen Klopp’s attacking ranks that which currently without Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota while Darwin Nunez continued to flatter to deceive. At Liverpool, Gakpo will also reunite with his national team skipper, Virgil van Dijk.