‘Didn’t need Virgil!’: Klopp shares what he realised in his very first conversation with Cody Gakpo

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Jurgen Klopp shares what he first realised when talking to Cody Gakpo. The Dutchman joined Liverpool this week.

Jurgen Klopp held a press conference on Thursday where he inevitably faced questions on Cody Gakpo. The forward signed for Liverpool on Wednesday evening after a whirlwind transfer.

Many expected Gakpo to join Manchester United, who were reported as leading the race. Liverpool swooped in to sign the player this week, however – and what a signing he is.

So how did Liverpool do it? Klopp revealed a little about the process as one journalist asked about Virgil van Dijk’s involvement in the transfer.

As it turns out, the boss didn’t need anyone to help convince Gakpo that Liverpool was the place for him.

“There are these nice moments where you’re manager of Liverpool FC where you think you have to convince somebody and then you realise when you talk that ‘oh, the door is wide open’,” said Klopp. “It was more or less a home-run, which is cool.

“So we didn’t need Virgil!”

Jurgen Klopp on Cody Gakpo

Now that’s what you want to hear. Gakpo was excited at the idea of joining Liverpool and Klopp didn’t need to work at it. Perfection.

Klopp did admit that Van Dijk got involved ‘at a certain point’. In other words, once it was clear that Liverpool could and perhaps would sign the player. It just makes sense for there to be contact between the two, given they play at international level together.

But in terms of ‘selling’ Liverpool to Gakpo, it was as easy as it gets. We do imagine that Klopp runs into similar situations regularly, given the kind of player the Reds tend to target. The likes of Jude Bellingham might take a little more convincing but someone like Gakpo was eager to make the step up.