Liverpool forward reveals just how close he came to joining Man Utd before big-money Anfield switch

Rob McCarthy 07 Mar 2024 6:37 PM

Cody Gakpo could have ended up at Man Utd and not Liverpool

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has revealed just how close he came to joining Manchester United before his switch to Liverpool just over a year ago.

The Dutch attacker joined Jurgen Klopp’s side in a £40million move from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023.

However, his move to Merseyside came just six months after the Netherlands international saw a switch to Old Trafford fall through.

After a sensational season in Holland – where current United Erik ten Hag was an onlooker as Ajax boss – Gakpo was tipped to join his fellow countryman at Old Trafford.

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United were in the market for a new forward at the time but they ended up waiting until the final week of the window to spend £85m on Ajax winger Antony instead.

That’s despite Gakpo being available for considerably less, and the fact he can play in a variety of positions across the forward line.

And Gakpo has now revealed that he was in regular contact with Ten Hag before the deal eventually fell through.

“Yeah I think it was the summer before that I was in contact with the club,” Gakpo told SkySports.

“I spoke to the manager as well. He’s Dutch, obviously, so I spoke to him.

“In the end it didn’t go through and that’s just it. In the winter came Liverpool and it was the best decision for me.”

Gakpo has gone on to score 18 goals in 65 games for Liverpool so far and has been operating as a No.9 recently in the absence of Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah.

After their Europa League clash with Sparta Prague on Thursday evening, Liverpool have a huge Premier League showdown with manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.

A win for Klopp’s men would see them move four points clear of City with 10 games to go, although Arsenal are also in the mix just behind.

Cody Gakpo