PSV Eindhoven desperately needed a major player sale when Liverpool came calling for Cody Gakpo, according to reports.
The Reds announced on Wednesday evening that a deal had been done with the Eredivisie club to bring their 23-year-old forward to Anfield on a five-and-a-half-year deal when the January transfer window opens in a few days time.
Although the official fee was undisclosed, the ECHO understands that Gakpo will cost Liverpool around £40million - a relative bargain for a Holland international who starred at the World Cup in Qatar.
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But according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, PSV had little choice but to let their prized asset go to England with the club having a ‘knife to their throat'. The report (re-laid by MSN ) claims that the seemingly reasonable fee was a result of PSV's own financial position.
De Telegraaf said: "That has to do with the financial housekeeping that has become unsettled in Eindhoven in recent years. Salary costs rose sharply, as did the write-offs on transfer fees. It now amounts to around thirty million and, in combination with the annual operating deficit of around ten million, the club has to add about forty million euros each season to earn that right. This can be done through extra income from, for example, the Champions League, but if you keep missing it, it must come from transfers."
The view of the Dutch outlet is that by balancing the books with the sale of Gakpo to Liverpool, PSV are compromising their hopes of regaining the Eredivisie league title from Ajax and in turn, qualifying for the Champions League, with all the financial benefits that it brings. PSV currently lie third in the table, on the same points as their Amsterdam rivals and three behind leaders Feyenoord.
But the Eindhoven club's loss appears to be Liverpool's gain. Subject to a successful work permit application, Gakpo will be running out at Anfield next month.
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