Cody Gakpo admits to Manchester United’s interest but insists that joining Liverpool ended up being the best decision for him.
Since Erik ten Hag came to Manchester United, speculation surrounding many top Dutch stars became connected to the Red Devils. The Former Ajax boss immediately signed Tyrell Malacia as his new left-back and then went after Frenkie De Jong as his next target, although he failed in that pursuit.
Then he went after two other stars in Jurrien Timber and Cody Gakpo, with the latter performing well with Ajax’ rivals PSV Eindhoven. With speculation surrounding Gakpo growing with every passing day, many would have bet on the Red Devils to sign him before the end of the summer window.
There were rumours in the Netherlands that then-national team manager Louis van Gaal told some of those stars, like Timber and Gakpo, to stay put, although those still need to be confirmed. In any case, Gakpo ended up staying at PSV, and it did help him pick up form ahead of the winter World Cup in Qatar.
While Manchester United could not sign him that summer, they were the clear favourites once the World Cup ended, however, one fine day, Liverpool’s agreement with the attacker emerged, which shocked some Red Devils fans.
For this long time, Gakpo has not opened up about the possible transfer to Manchester United and why he chose Liverpool. He spoke briefly to Sky Sports and revealed what happened in the background, but he insisted that the decision to join the Reds was the best one so far.
Gakpo said, “It was the summer before. I was in contact with the club and the manager – he’s Dutch so I spoke to him too.”
“In the end it was nothing, that was everything, and during the winter Liverpool came. It was the best decision for me.”
That summer, when Manchester United failed to sign Gakpo, they brought in another wide attacker, Antony. The Red Devils paid an astonishing sum for the Brazilian, as now he’s been touted as a big flop at Old Trafford, whereas Gakpo has 16 goal contributions this season alone.
