Cody Gakpo has been catching the eye on 2022 World Cup duty with his goal-scoring exploits and has revealed what he thinks about talk of interest from Manchester United.
Cody Gakpo has downplayed talk regarding his future as he looks to stay solely concentrated on the World Cup. The young attacker is one of the brightest prospects in football right now, and many top European clubs had been linked with the highly coveted PSV attacker even before the tournament.
More impressive performances on the biggest stages in Qatar have helped to boost the 23-year-old’s stock even further, leading to more speculation regarding his future. The Netherlands forward has been one of the breakout stars of the tournament so far, with three goals to his name, finding the back of the net in each of the three group-stage games.
Gakpo excelled last term at PSV and opted to remain with the Dutch outfit in the summer despite coming ever-closer to landing at Leeds United amid interest from Manchester United and Real Madrid, but that move to Elland Road collapsed at the last minute.
He has been in scintillating form during the ongoing campaign for the Dutch club. He has bagged a stunning tally of 13 goals and 17 assists from 23 appearances across all competitions this season. His goal involvement numbers are superior to Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland, who has 26 goal contributions, albeit in a much weaker league.
Cody Gakpo on big transfer in January: “I have to be honest, I am not thinking about that now. I am focused on the World Cup, want to keep performing well”, tells @TheAthleticFC. 🚨🇳🇱 #transfers #MUFC
“Hopefully when we become world champions we can think about other things”. pic.twitter.com/6355HSd9hX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 3, 2022
While the relegation-threatened Whites stand little chance of signing him this time around and will likely be priced out of a move, some elite clubs may look to act sooner rather than later and pursue the 23-year-old in the New Year, but the PSV attacker sees no reason to discuss it while on international duty as he keeps his own focus locked on the present.
When questioned about his future at the club level, the Dutchman remained coy and kept his cards close to his chest, giving nothing away.
United appears to be the most likely club to make a move for Gakpo in January. The Red Devils find themselves desperately needing a striker due to Cristiano Ronaldo’s sudden exit after an extraordinary turn of events that ended up in the club releasing him from his playing role and would be boosted by having a versatile forward who can play across the frontline.
United are obviously a long-term admirer of his talents. The Dutchman was heavily linked with the Red Devils during the summer transfer window, but the Manchester giants ended up prioritising a club-record deal for Ajax winger Antony.
Marcel Brands has since confirmed that United sought to sign the 23-year-old but were unwilling to pay PSV’s asking price of €50 million. United are now being fancied to launch a fresh offensive for Gakpo, but it is also claimed that PSV may prefer to retain his services for the season.
In an interview with NOS earlier this season, Gakpo said that he is ready to take the next step in his career at the end of the season and named Manchester United as one of the clubs he would prefer to join.
