Former PSV Eindhoven coach Aad de Mos is wondering if Cody Gakpo may have joined Premier League giants Liverpool at the wrong time while arguing that his £35 million price-tag is a bargain, speaking to Soccernews.
Last summer, Manchester United invested nearly £90 million in Ajax’s Antony.
Six months later, north west neighbours Liverpool paid less than 50 per cent of that eye-watering fee to bring in a forward who has already scored more Eredivisie goals this season than Antony did in the whole of 2021/22.
Gakpo, per The Guardian, joined Liverpool for a relative bargain fee of £35 million; the six-time European Champions taking full advantage of PSV’s well-publicised financial issues after the former Leeds and Southampton target scored three times at the Qatar World Cup.
But while De Mos feels that Gakpo represents excellent value for money – especially at a time in which Shakhtar Donetsk are demanding ‘100 million euros’ for fellow winger Mykhaylo Mudryk – the ex-PSV boss does point out that the Liverpool side of today are no longer the all-conquering ‘mentality monsters’ of old.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool sign Cody Gakpo from Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven
“He arrives at a time when the team is disappearing a bit. The spirit is gone. And their position is no longer in the top five, just like Chelsea,” De Mos argues, suggesting that the Klopp era may be coming to an end despite the fact that the German remains under contract until 2026.
“Then you also get all that misery, perhaps with a manager who is about to leave. So I don’t know if the time is right to go to Liverpool.
“Definitely (Gakpo is a bargain). Shakhtar Donetsk have Antony’s amount in mind (for Mudryk), otherwise he won’t leave. But yes, PSV is happy with (the sale). Gakpo is happy about that.
“I think only (manager Ruud) Van Nistelrooy is not happy that his top scorer is leaving in the middle of the season.”
Gakpo made his Liverpool debut in Saturday’s 2-2 FA Cup draw with Wolves at Anfield; helping set up Mo Salah’s second-half strike with a searching cross.
“He fitted into the game. It was not easy for a first step,” Klopp told ITV Sport after that controversial draw.
“We cannot expect it to be perfect, but he showed good signs. We have to get him in better positions but that will come, no doubt.”
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