Julian Ward gave up his Christmas to seal a deal that gets Cody Gakpo to Liverpool. A report shares the impression he left on Jurgen Klopp.
This comes from the Athletic. They claim that Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff are ‘grateful’ to both FSG and Julian Ward in the wake of the Cody Gakpo transfer.
Gakpo officially signed for Liverpool on Wednesday in a whirlwind deal. He moves from PSV Eindhoven as something of a surprise – Manchester United were thought to lead this race.
But Liverpool saw an opportunity. United weren’t willing to move in January but PSV were open to selling. That led to Ward giving up his Christmas to thrash out a deal with the Dutch side.
He succeeded, FSG gave their blessing, and now Gakpo is a Red. This was a transfer Liverpool wanted to make happen in the summer, so it’s taken trust on all sides to make it happen early.
Understandably, then, Klopp and co. are feeling grateful that it was allowed to happen.
Julian Ward seals Cody Gakpo deal
Liverpool aren’t always eager to jump on transfers but everyone deserves credit here. Luis Díaz’s injury risked leaving them short for the next few months and without a left-winger to take on the Champions League.
They’ve now rectified that about as well as you can. Gakpo is a tremendous player who just shone at the World Cup in a new position.
He’s also just 23, meaning there’s plenty of room for growth there. Honestly, this deal seems phenomenal from back to front, and we’re thrilled Gakpo is at Liverpool.
Ward deserves a massive amount of credit for that. We fully expect other sides would have eventually tried to get the payer, especially once the January window opened. Liverpool wasted no time at all once they decided they wanted Gakpo.
What a shame, then, that Ward is off in the summer.
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