As good as Haaland! Man Utd or Arsenal should have signed Gakpo
Karan Tejwani
- Updated: 7 Oct 2022 12:11 BST
- 4 min read
Cody Gakpo has had an excellent start to the season and that continued in PSV’s Europa League group stage match against Zurich, where he scored twice and created one in his side’s 5-1 win.
The Dutchman was linked with a transfer away from PSV this season, with clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal interested in him, but he remained in his home country and has blocked out the rumour mill.
Gakpo is one of the emerging stars in a brilliant generation of Dutch talent coming through the ranks, and he is now set for a place on the plane to Qatar for the World Cup this winter.
One could ask, however, if the Premier League clubs that refused to sign him this year made a mistake in not doing so – will this be something they regret in the future and have to pay a lot more money to amend?
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Gakpo has had an excellent start to the season
Gakpo’s record this season is impressive, and speaks volumes of his talents: last night, he became the first player across Europe’s top seven leagues to record over ten goals and assists each this season.
Additionally, his overall record of 22 goals and assists across all competitions is the same as Erling Haaland’s goal contributions record, and Haaland is arguably Europe’s most in-form player at the minute.
Granted, the competition Gakpo faces domestically and in Europe is significantly lesser than what Haaland does, but it’s still a record worth praising.
Gakpo and Haaland are also two of only three players across Europe’s top seven leagues this season to be involved in over 20 goals this campaign, with the third being Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar.
Excluding qualification and play-off matches, only in three matches in this campaign has Gakpo not been able to score or set up a goal for one of his team-mates, proving his importance for PSV.
He’s even been trying to shrug off suggestions that he doesn’t perform in big moments: his performance against Feyenoord in September showed that as he scored once and set up three in a 4-3 win for his side.
🇳🇱 Cody Gakpo is the first player in Europe this season to score over 10 goals and 10 assists. 🔥
👔 15 Games
⚽️ 12 Goals
🅰️ 10 Assists pic.twitter.com/qSHQAQUFG5— FIVE (@FIVEUK) October 7, 2022
There’s a suggestion that Gakpo is perhaps becoming too good for the Eredivisie, and that PSV demanded too little a fee for him in the summer, with rumours that a €40 million deal would suffice.
In the winter, he’ll be off to the World Cup, and while his starting place is not yet cemented, he could have a valuable role off the bench given his explosive talents and ability to make a difference in an instant.
Any positive performances at the World Cup would immediately cause a spike in his fee, and should he keep up this form, PSV could reasonably demand upwards of €60 million for their star man.
He still has four years left on his deal at the Eindhoven club, with Gakpo’s contract set to run out in the summer of 2026, meaning his value is well-protected for a while.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was known to be a keen admirer of the player, and could well come back for him in January, especially seeing as the club aren’t exactly well-stacked in attack.
Arsenal are also known for their youth-centred approach under Mikel Arteta, while other such as Everton and Leeds United are certainly keeping an eye on the player’s development.
It could be said that these clubs made a mistake not pursuing him – if Gakpo keeps this up, they’ll have to pay a lot more in the future than they would have this past summer.
