Cody Gakpo has revealed that he decided against a move to Manchester United after speaking to their former manager, Louis van Gaal.
Gakpo was in demand this summer after dazzling for PSV Eindhoven last year. The 23-year-old registered 36 goal contributions for the Dutch giants during the previous campaign and has already plundered six goals in just four Eredivisie games so far this term.
Unsurprisingly, a whole host of Premier League sides have been credited with an interest in Gakpo's services in recent months, including Arsenal, Southampton and Leeds. It was revealed that Manchester United were also keeping tabs on the Dutch forward in the wake of complications in their bid to prise Ajax forward Antony away from Amsterdam.
A report from The Athletic last week even claimed that there was a slim chance that United could opt to pursue deals for both Gakpo and Antony if they were able to strike a deal with Ajax for the Brazilian before Thursday's transfer deadline. But Gakpo, who was presented with the opportunity to pursue a deadline day move to Southampton after the Saints tabled a last-gasp bid for his services, has now broken his silence on Premier League interest.
And Gakpo has revealed that a conversation with former United boss Van Gaal, who is the current head coach of the Dutch national team, helped him decide against making a move overseas.
Gakpo told PSV's official website: "I asked the national coach [Louis van Gaal] for advice. He thought I should follow my gut feeling, but also said that a transfer in a World Cup year would not really be ideal, also because of adjustment. I agreed with him."
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Van Gaal, who previously was in charge at Old Trafford for two years between 2014 and 2016, also had a similar conversation with Jurrien Timber; one of Erik ten Hag's former Ajax players who had also been pursued by Manchester United earlier in the summer.
Timber also decided against making the move ahead of the World Cup, which kicks off in Qatar in two-and-a-half months' time.
Gakpo also opened up on how the uncertain nature of a deal deterred him from moving on from PSV. Manchester United eventually confirmed a mega-money deal for Antony, who arrived from Ajax for an initial £81.5million fee, on Thursday morning - just hours before the transfer window finally slammed shut.
Gakpo added: "It was also a bit last-minute. Last week I thought I would go to Manchester 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. Ultimately, the choice fell on PSV."
