Cody Gakpo has admitted he spoke to Ruud van Nistelrooy about a transfer to Manchester United before completing his move to Liverpool in January.
Gakpo joined the Reds for an initial £37m from PSV Eindhoven last month having shone at the World Cup for the Netherlands off the back of a prolific 18 months for the Eredivisie side. However, he had previously looked set to move to Old Trafford following interest last summer.
With Red Devils legend Van Nistelrooy his manager at PSV, Gakpo has revealed he did speak to his compatriot about the possibility of joining Liverpool's big rivals. But while Van Nistelrooy would have liked Gakpo to move to United, the forward said his former manager put personal allegiances aside.
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“To be honest, I spoke to him a lot about United in the summer when the transfer looked like it may be coming,” Gakpo said. “But in the winter, not really. It was Ruud’s wish that I went to a big club - and I think I have achieved that with Liverpool.
“There was a lot of speculation in the summer. It was the first window where it was possible to move and so, yes, it affected me a little bit.
“But then there was one moment when I just said, ‘forget about it, play your best game, and maybe it will happen next summer or in the winter’. That’s what I tried to do and it went well.”
Given the strong links with United last summer, it was something of a surprise when it was Liverpool who made the move for Gakpo before Christmas.
While the Reds’ own interest pre-dated the World Cup, the striker, who scored three goals in Qatar, wasn’t made aware of contact until after the Netherlands’ involvement in the tournament had concluded.
And while the switch then happened relatively quickly, Gakpo, who is a devout Christian, insisted it wait until after Christmas Day.
“I heard about Liverpool’s interest - and I think five days later the deal was done,” he said. “My manager and brother knew about it for a longer time, but I said to them at the World Cup not to tell me anything because I have to focus.
“As soon as I heard about the interest, the feeling was, ‘come on, let's go’. You have a second Christmas Day? Boxing Day, right? I was with the family - including nieces and aunties - and I was getting calls all the time about Liverpool.
“But on Christmas Day, I was not on my phone. That is a very important day so the phone was away. It was the very next day that it happened.”
Gakpo is yet to score or assist for the Reds from his first six appearances for the club and he admits the drought is affecting him heading into Monday night’s Merseyside derby with Everton at Anfield. But with Virgil van Dijk scoring on his own Liverpool derby debut against the Blues in January 2018, Gakpo is hoping to follow in his compatriot’s footsteps.
“The guys who say it doesn’t affect them when they don’t score are lying,” he said. “I am an attacking player so, of course, I like to score goals or give assists - and I also like to win.
“I am just trying to improve my game and fit how I play into how the team plays. If I can do that, the rest will follow.
“Virgil has told me about the derby and said it’s going to be a big fight. He also told me he scored his first goal against Everton - and now I hope for exactly the same.”
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