Leeds are set to beat bitter rivals Manchester United to the signature of Dutch player of the year Cody Gakpo in the New Year.
The Yorkshire club have agreed personal terms with the Dutch international forward and are now in talks with PSV Eindhoven about their £30million valuation of the 23-year-old. PSV wants to cash in after being knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by Rangers.
Premier League highfliers Arsenal have also been monitoring Gakpo for 12 months, but he now appears bound for Elland Road - and that will be a huge blow to United boss Erik ten Hag. Ten Hag has given the go-ahead for out-of-favour superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to find a new club - and that will save United over £500,000-a-week in wages.
But Leeds are now in pole position to land Gakpo after failing to seal a deal themselves in August after United dropped out of the running. Ten Hag wanted to sign both Gakpo and Brazilian winger Antony in the summer - but ran out of money when Ajax cranked up their demands for their star asset to £86million.
That alerted Leeds to his availability - and they were so keen to bring him to the Premier League that they sent a private jet to Holland on deadline day in the hope they could fly Gakpo back to the UK to complete a medical at the 11th hour. But PSV technical director John de Jong blocked the move - and has now been sacked after it emerged that club directors had told him that Gakpo needed to be sold to balance the books in the aftermath of a Champions League failure that cost around £60million.
Ten Hag still wants to take Gakpo to Manchester - but accepts that a January deal is unlikely after a summer spend in excess of £210million. Gakpo is desperate to come to England. He has not allowed his summer disappointment to affect his form and has scored 11 goals in 16 appearances for club and country this season.
Gakpo revealed: “A week before the end of the window I thought I would go to Manchester - and then I was suddenly in a situation where I had to choose another club in a week. That was not an ideal situation for me and for PSV Eindhoven. It felt a bit rushed. Ultimately, the choice fell on staying with PSV.”
Gakpo will be in Holland’s squad for the World Cup in November. He asked Dutch coach Louis van Gaal for his advice in the summer after the former Old Trafford boss had urged defender Jurrien Timber not to leave Ajax for United to safeguard his place in the squad for Qatar.
Gakpo admitted: “I asked the national coach for advice. He thought I should follow my gut feeling, but also said that a transfer in a World Cup year would not really be ideal. Because of the adjustment I would have to make, I agreed with him.”
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch is a huge admirer of Gakpo and wants him to link up with Luis Sinisterra, the Colombian forward signed from Feyenoord who came second in the Dutch player of the year poll. The versatile PSV captain can operate in four positions, but has thrived as a No 10 this season after Van Gaal told him that was his best position.
Van Gaal said: “This was a good lesson for Cody. It was good for his development, too, because he doesn’t want to play there himself. He prefers to play from the left. But I think he has everything to become a top player as a really good No 10.”
