After scoring three of the Netherlands five goals in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, Cody Gakpo officially announced himself to the world on the international stage (if you somehow didn't know about him already).
On top of his trio of goals in Qatar, his 13 goals and 17 assists for his club in just 24 appearances in all competitions this season marked him out as one of the premiere European talents to watch out for coming into the tournament.
But it's been revealed that Dutch manager Louis van Gaal warned teams of the talent Gakpo possessed back when Newcastle United had a chance to sign him from PSV Eindhoven back in the summer.
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The Magpies were previously linked to Gakpo in the previous transfer window but nothing materialised and it was Premier League rivals Leeds United who actually came closest to securing his signature.
Speaking back in the summer, Van Gaal heaped the praise onto Gakpo and spelled out how good he was for all the clubs interested in him - including Newcastle.
"Things can change but Cody has everything it takes to become a star. He has a wonderful personality to become a star player because he is open minded to anything and everything.
"Cody is a very young player - he is 23 but looks younger. He has only been playing with PSV for two, three years and always played from the left. He did not want to play in the centre or at 10, but he did have to for me. Now he thinks I am a great head coach!"
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