Cody Gakpo turned down deadline day moves to Premier League duo Leeds United and Southampton after discussing his World Cup prospects with Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal, he tells the PSV Eindhoven YouTube channel.
It’s been a long time since Van Gaal was patrolling the Old Trafford touchline. But the tough-talking Dutchman is clearly still exerting quite an influence on UK shores.
It was he who convinced Jurrien Timber to avoid leaving Ajax for Manchester United with a place on the plane to Qatar up for grabs. And, after holding talks with Gakpo too, the PSV talisman took a leaf out of Timber’s book and opted to stay at a club offering him guaranteed first-team football with the Qatar World Cup now just over two months away.
Leeds United and Southampton miss out on PSV star Cody Gakpo
“I asked the national coach (Van Gaal) for advice,” explains Gakpo, who’s already got seven goals and six assists to his name this season.
“He thought I should follow my gut feeling. But he also said that a transfer in a World Cup year would not really be ideal, also because of adjustment (to a new league). I agreed with him.
“It was also a bit last-minute. Last week, I thought I would go to Manchester United, and then you may have to choose another club in a week. That’s not nice for me and PSV. It feels a bit rushed.”
Manchester United’s cross-Pennine rivals, in the end, came closer than anyone else to securing Gakpo’s £38 million-rated signature.
According to TEAMtalk, Leeds matched Southampton’s club-record bid for the explosive left-winger. Gakpo was even supposed to accompany director of football Victor Orta on a flight back to Yorkshire, only to change his mind.
Who knows, if the World Cup wasn’t taking place six months earlier than usual, perhaps Gakpo – who confirmed interest from Jesse Marsch’s side in July – would be a Leeds player today. The Whites also missed out on Marseille’s Bamba Dieng on deadline day.
The arrival of FC Zurich wonderkid Wilfried Gnonto should, at least, ease some of the frustration. Gnonto is the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Italian national team, after all.
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