Liverpool have announced the arrival of former Leeds United target Cody Gakpo. News broke on Tuesday that the Dutchman will head to Anfield next month and complete a £37million move.
The Whites were linked with Gakpo in the summer after a stellar breakout season at PSV Eindhoven. In October, the forward publicly admitted that he was close to joining Leeds or Premier League rivals Southampton.
However, a deal never materialised despite Jesse Marsch saying it was '99 per cent done' before Gakpo’s price tag skyrocketed. A staggering 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 games this season had only heightened talk of a possible transfer.
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European heavyweights Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool switched their attention to the versatile forward. Three goals at the World Cup for the Netherlands also placed him firmly in the shop window ahead of the January transfer window.
Finalising a deal to Liverpool puts the long-winded transfer saga to bed a Leeds supporters can now move on from the Gakpo saga. In his first interview as a Reds player, the 23-year-old outlined his eagerness to play for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
“I feel really good,” Gakpo said. “I’m really excited to be here. I’m looking forward to starting training and playing for this amazing club.
“I think this is a great club for me to come in and try to show what I can (do) and try to help the team to achieve more beautiful moments than they already did in the past years. For me personally, it’s also good to develop here and there’s a lot of great players here (who) I can learn a lot of things from.”
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