Cody Gakpo has revealed how a teammate convinced him to stay at PSV Eindhoven and reach his time to move to Liverpool.
The year was in 2022 and the Dutch striker came fresh from a season in which he scored 21 goals and scored 15 templates, which led to a certain interest of clubs in the Premier League.
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But with Manchester United, Leeds and Southampton, who are interested in a step, Gakpo revealed that it was one of his PSV colleagues who convinced him to leave his future to fate.
It was also United’s signing of Antony for 86 million pounds that effectively ended her persecution of the Netherlands internationally.
With the players’ tribune, Gakpo said: “It wasn’t until 2020 that my game really started. At that time, Roger Schmidt took over the management as our manager, and he took us to second place. We were still miles behind Ajax, but next year we only finished two points and won the Super Cup final against them.
“At that time they seemed unbeatable with ten HAG and the players they had. So that was great. Mich.
“At that time I heard rumors about moving to England. Now everyone knows who knows me is a man who is guided by my faith. One day I had a meeting with the pastor from my church in Holland and he brought a friend who was a pastor elsewhere.
“This other pastor said: ‘Can I tell you something?’ I said, of course.
“Then United went for Antony in the summer of 2022. I thought what should I do? At that time I was able to stay in Leeds, Southampton, or PSV.
“I prayed and asked God for leadership. But you see, I had to make sure I got his message.
“So I said that if I only scored a goal, I will go to Southampton … If I score twice, I go to Leeds … If I score three times, I’ll stay.
“We played the next day and I rated twice. I was also involved in a third goal – and initially it was described as a separate goal. Then I was understood. So two goals, right? I thought Ah, ok, it’s Leeds. I was in peace with my decision.
“When I was sitting on the bench, I told my friend Jordan Teze, who is now playing for Monaco. It was like a coins to see what they decided.
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“It’s a funny story, but in a way it is a really important piece of the puzzle. Thank God I stayed because this could play in the World Cup, which led to Liverpool. “
The fans of Anfield will be so happy that Gakpo trusted his trust in a step after Liverpool, especially in view of the fact how well he played this season.
The striker took a fee worth over £ 35 million in January 2023 and scored seven seven in the second half of the 2022/23 season before scoring 16 goals in his first full season in 53 games.
In this term, Gakpo’s Productive with 14 goals and five templates in 32 games this season certainly increased – which means that he is firmly on the right track to enjoy his best season with the red.
Tony Cascarino discussed the Dutch striker on talk sport and described him as “like a new signing compared to the Gakpo last season”.
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In view of the struggles of Liverpool at four fronts – the Premier League, the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the Champions League – the fans will hope that Gakpo can continue and could be an important role in a historical season for the Merseysiders.