One thing Liverpool fans are going to miss about Jurgen Klopp is his ability to get things right in terms of recruitment.
It’s hard to know exactly how much input Klopp has had on signings during his tenure, but with a new sporting director and manager coming in this summer, things could start to be different.
Change can often be a good thing in football, but Liverpool would be unwise to stray too far from the tried and tested method. That same method is what brought Cody Gakpo to the club in January 2023, snatching him under Manchester United’s nose.
United were also keen on signing Gakpo, with the 24-year-old confirming in an interview with Sky Sports today that he went as far as speaking to Erik ten Hag six months before joining Liverpool.
“I think it was the summer before [signing for Liverpool] that I was in contact with the club and spoke to the manager from them as well, obviously he’s Dutch. I spoke to him as well,” says Gakpo.
“At the end it didn’t go through and that’s just it. Then in the winter Liverpool came and, yeah, the best decision for me.”
Gakpo opens up on United contact
Obviously, no one can say quite how Gakpo’s career at United would have gone had he joined two years ago.
Although he has done well at Liverpool, it’s also hard to argue that the Dutchman has been an overriding success. Gakpo perhaps hasn’t kicked on quite how he had been expected to this season.
Maybe the conditions would have been somehow better for him to thrive more at Old Trafford.
Having said that, United are in really poor shape just now. They may be starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together under new ownership, but for now they’re sitting sixth in the Premier League and have already crashed out of Europe. Next week, Liverpool also have the chance to dump them out of the FA Cup.
As for the Reds, they’ve already got one trophy in the bag this season and are gunning for three more.
From a players’ point of view, there’s surely only one choice between the two clubs at the moment.
Interestingly, Gakpo doesn’t go further into the reasons why his proposed move to United broke down. Was it his decision? Did the Red Devils not follow up their interest? Either way, he certainly ended up making the right move.
Though he hasn’t been as eye-catching as some of his teammates at Anfield, Cody is still an important part of the Liverpool team. He was crucial to the Carabao Cup win, for example, and has stepped up well when injuries have stung the rest of the squad.
Still young, Gakpo will surely prove to be a big success in the years to come as well. After his stunning display against them last season, United will have been cursing themselves for missing out on Liverpool’s No.18. Let’s hope Gakpo can reinforce that feeling once again next weekend.
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