Should Man Utd really pay €60m for Cody Gakpo?

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 5 Dec 2022 17:19 GMT
• 4 min read

PSV Eindhoven reportedly want nearly €60 million for Netherlands World Cup star Cody Gakpo. Should Manchester United pay it?

Gakpo nearly joined Man Utd last summer for a fraction of that fee, but the move fell through with the club instead focusing their attentions on Antony, whom they ended up paying Ajax €95 million for with a further €5m in add-ons.

Gakpo was left bitterly disappointed. "In the end the deal didn't go through, which was a shame," he told the Times. "For me and my development, and because Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, but also for PSV, because to transfer a player to Man Utd is a good thing for the club."

READ: Cody Gakpo’s World Cup form tipped to give Man Utd a £20m problem

The failed move doesn't appear to have harmed either player or club, however. Gakpo had 13 goals and 17 assists from just 24 games for PSV in the first half of the season, and has added another three strikes from three appearances with the Netherlands at the World Cup.

The latter in particular has catapulted Gakpo to international prominence, and PSV are now looking to cash in to the tune of €60m for a player still rated at €28.5m by Football Transfers' in-house algorithm.

'PSV want £50m'

"PSV want at least £50m [€58m] for their academy graduate," report the Sun. "Gakpo has a contract until 2026 with his boyhood club, but has assurances he will be allowed to leave if their asking price is met."

United may be regretting that they didn't secure Gakpo's signature for half that fee earlier in the season, but they should still bite PSV's hand off.

READ: Van Dijk's brutal Man Utd insult as he gives Gakpo transfer advice

Gakpo's goal-involvement in the Netherlands - one every 65 minutes he has played - should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt given Dutch football is ranked five places below English in the latest UEFA coefficients, but the fact he is now doing it at a World Cup is proving his big-game potential.

And Utd committed €100m on Antony from the same league as Gakpo plays in. Jadon Sancho, signed the previous summer from Borussia Dortmund, cost €85m.

Gakpo's ceiling looks like it could be higher than either player's. He also plugs two gaps rather than one, able to play on the wing or right up front as he has been doing for the Netherlands.

A fee of €60m could end up proving a bargain, and United can afford to find out.