New Liverpool signing Cody Gakpo really did want to sign for Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven.
That’s according to journalist Dean Jones. Speaking on The Football Terrace YouTube channel, Jones claims that it’s been ‘played down’ just how far along Gakpo to United really was.
“Gakpo [going to Liverpool] genuinely did catch them [United] out. It might have been played down to this point but they thought they were getting Gakpo. You know what, Gakpo even wanted to go to Man United. It kind of caught them cold,” he explained.
Whether United was his first choice or not is now immaterial. Liverpool swooped in and Gakpo is ready to tear it up at Anfield.
Gakpo ready to roll at Liverpool
It has been well covered by now that United were in for Gakpo. However, there are varying reports as to just how much Erik ten Hag wanted his countryman.
Some have claimed that the Old Trafford club hadn’t been fully convinced by the 23-year-old. As a result, they weren’t all too bothered at losing him to Liverpool.
Others, like Jones, are now asserting that the move was instead a little bit of a coup by the Reds.
Either way, it doesn’t really matter now. Gakpo is a Liverpool player and hopefully he doesn’t look back.
In much the same way that Luis Diaz was almost a Tottenham Hotspur player a year ago, these things will be quickly forgotten.
Now Gakpo’s full focus must be on hitting the ground running at Liverpool. He has clearly been gearing up for a move from the Netherlands for a while now and should be prepared for the change of environment.
It’s a shame that Virgil van Dijk will now no longer be able to ease his international teammate’s transition to Liverpool training. But Virgil’s injury should be done with soon enough.
In the meantime, the remaining Liverpool players will no doubt make him feel at home. With the likes of Andy Robertson about, maybe he’ll be in for a light bit of ribbing about his dalliance with the Reds’ big rivals.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
