Cody Gakpo

Gakpo, who came close to joining Manchester United this summer, is heading for Liverpool after starring at the World Cup.

“I’ve said to him many times, ‘Make the right decision’ — and I think he will. “The choice he makes, I don’t think it’s going to be about him making good money,” Scheepers says. In the end I stayed, but it was a stressful period.” A look at his shooting map in the Europa League — where he has so far faced Bodo/Glimt once and FC Zurich twice — illustrates how his game changes when playing against teams who want to defend deeper. “At this moment, you could definitely say he is too good to play in the Eredivisie,” adds Voetbal International’s Goodijk. “He plays with a huge amount of confidence and finally also really steps up in the big games. “It’s the player,” he says. But in the end, he had the determination. They praised his skills and they wanted him to have fun, to enjoy the game. Scheepers is no longer a youth-team coach and when he speaks to The Athletic from the Netherlands, he has just finished preparing for Utrecht’s next league match — the trip to PSV Eindhoven last weekend. European football at large has taken a shine to the winger and various clubs are thinking hard about him in advance of the transfer window opening again at New Year. In Qatar, Gakpo became the first Dutch player to score in all three group stage matches at a World Cup.

Liverpool have reached an agreement to sign Netherlands international forward Cody Gakpo, PSV Eindhoven have announced.

The news came on the same day the Anfield club [clinched a 3-1 victory at Aston Villa](https://www.eurosport.com/football/premier-league/2022-2023/aston-villa-v-liverpool-premier-league-live_sto9289041/story.shtml)in their Premier League clash. Premier League

The transfer fee is between £35m and £45m. A PSV statement on Monday said: "PSV and LFC have reached an agreement on the proposed transfer of Cody Gakpo.

Gakpo has all the attributes required of a modern forward and after his perfect treble at the World Cup had clubs across Europe scrambling for his signature before Liverpool won the race. That mentality will have impressed his suitors as much as his league-topping tally of goals and assists. His steadily rising goals- and assists-per-90 minutes stats for his club show that extra homework is paying off. At PSV he has shone as a left winger, cutting inside. A goal in each group stage game - one with his head, one with his left foot and one with his right foot - was testament to his rapidly improving play in the final third, appetite for the big stage and versatility. Cody Gakpo's stock increased at the World Cup with three goals in five appearances before the Netherlands were knocked out by eventual winners Argentina; Man Utd had shown interest in Gakpo in the summer before pursuing a deal for Antony from Ajax