Chelsea valued Cody Gakpo at less than Liverpool paid for the player, according to reports. The Blues did consider a transfer.
This comes from the Athletic. They claim that Chelsea considered signing Cody Gakpo in the January transfer window, knowing he was available.
However, the Blues felt Gakpo was worth around £35m. They couldn’t decide whether to move forward on that valuation, either, before Liverpool jumped in to sign the Dutchman.
Per the Guardian, Liverpool paid £35m upfront for Gakpo but also agreed to raise that to £44m with potential add-ons. It seems the Reds had no doubts whatsoever about his value at the former price and believe he could be worth quite a bit more.
No wonder they ended up moving.
Chelsea considered Cody Gakpo
Gakpo’s record for PSV Eindhoven was so fantastic that several clubs must have considered a deal. Especially after his efforts for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
In fact, we’re amazed that Liverpool got the deal done so quickly. Gakpo’s quality – which feels pretty proven at this point – should have commanded competition for a 23-year-old. Instead, the Reds just moved in and got him.
It makes you wonder how Gakpo was rated by top clubs. Chelsea, for instance, could break their transfer record to sign Enzo Fernández – a player who has only been on the world’s radar for around six months.
The idea that Gakpo wasn’t necessarily worth a third of his price seems bizarre in hindsight. But that’s certainly easy to say before the forward has played a game for Liverpool.
We certainly believe he’ll go on to be a star player for the Reds and an incredibly useful one. Jurgen Klopp is happy with his signing, raving about his ‘quality’ this week, per The Times.
If Liverpool are right, they should end up making Chelsea’s valuation look very silly.
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