Liverpool have signed Dutch star Cody Gakpo from PSV for a fee in the region of £44 million with add-ons.
“The 23-year-old forward will officially become a Reds player at the start of the January transfer window after agreeing personal terms and successfully completing a medical at the AXA Training Centre,” Liverpool said late Wednesday.
“Gakpo arrives on the back of an impressive World Cup showing with the Netherlands, netting three goals in five appearances, starring alongside Virgil van Dijk in helping their country reach the quarter-final stage.”
Before the Eredivisie went for the World Cup break, Gakpo was the league’s leading scorer with 12 goals and the highest assister with the same number.
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“I feel really good, I’m really excited to be here. I’m looking forward to start training and start playing for this amazing club,” the player told Liverpool’s website.
“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 that they already did in the past years.
“I think 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.”
For Jurgen Klopp, Gakpo’s arrival will have an effect on his plans for the January transfer window. Liverpool made their move before Manchester United could seal a deal for the rising star.
Another forward was not top of Klopp’s list of priorities, with Liverpool’s midfield still needing reinforcements.
“I would say in principle it’s like this for all people in the world: the money you spend has an impact on the money you can spend (in the future),” Klopp told reporters on Thursday.
“We know what we want to do and we will see if we can do it. It’s about money, of course, but it’s more about how it always was, about the right players as we are really happy that we could get Cody.
“He is a young player with a lot of potential. If he would have already been scoring 40 goals in Spain or whatever he would be unaffordable.
“These kind of things, it’s all about timing. That’s why we were really convinced. He could always make the next step and that makes it interesting.”
Gakpo scored in each of the Netherlands group matches at the World Cup and his versatility across the forward line means he fits the Klopp mould of being a multi-functional player.
However, with the window not officially open until Sunday and Liverpool playing Leicester on Friday and Brentford on Monday, Gakpo might have to wait a while for his debut.
“We are obviously very early (in the January market) which is good. There might be a chance for Brentford but not really,” Klopp said.
“January 1 is a Bank Holiday but the papers some other people have to sign would have to be done at 12pm on the second, and I’m not too positive that will happen. We will not rush it anyway. Probably Wolves (in the FA Cup on January 7).
“The position he played most often is obviously the left wing, that is clear, but he can play in different positions. He played for Holland and PSV in different positions, it’s all fine.”
