Cody Gakpo will officially become a Liverpool player when the transfer window opens in January, and all paperwork is complete. But that didn’t stop the Netherlands international from pulling on a Liverpool training kit and getting to know the Reds’ training centre, where he’ll spend most of his time following the move from PSV Eindhoven.Standing next to a Christmas tree, Gakpo looked like a gift for the Anfield faithful. The in-form striker has revealed the role played by Virgil Van Dijk in persuading him to sign for Liverpool. The 23-year-old forward signed a five-and-a-half-year deal and is currently awaiting a work permit. The official fee is undisclosed, but English press claim that the deal is worth around $45 million.What do you think VVD is showing Cody Gakpo? #LFC pic.twitter.com/tUYdSVUd7K— Zubin Daver (@zubinofficial) December 29, 2022 Liverpool decided to make their move after Gakpo’s increasingly impressive performances for both PSV and the Netherlands. The young goalscorer contributed nine goals and 12 assists during his 14 league appearances this season and was on target three times in five outings for his country at the World Cup.And it was fellow Dutchman Van Dijk who told Gakpo Liverpool was the right club for him to develop.”We spoke a lot over the phone in the last few days. What Virgil told me was that this is the right move for me to make and for me to develop and to become a better player, that the club is massive but also like a real family – I think that’s also very important for me because I’m a family guy. He said only good things. I’m also happy he’s here to help me with some stuff. I’m really grateful to be here.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6911550##There is no doubt that Liverpool fans will often remind their Manchester United rivals that Gakpo moved to Anfield despite the Red Devils’ boss Erik Ten Hag pushing hard for the former PSV star – provided that the goals start flowing, of course. Gakpo even revealed a couple of months ago that he’d had talks with the former Ajax head coach.”I was close to leaving PSV this year. I spoke to Erik Ten Hag a few times at Manchester United. In the end the deal didn’t go through, which was a shame – for me and my development, and because Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, but also for PSV, because to transfer a player to Manchester United is a good thing for the club.”Gakpo walking past our trophies 👀 pic.twitter.com/M4k0NWJf8Z— The Anfield Talk (@TheAnfieldTalk) December 28, 2022 That particular transfer didn’t happen, making United’s loss Liverpool’s gain. Jurgen Klopp is already delighted. He also can’t wait to work with Cody.”The work that has gone into this has been really impressive and in the end we have managed to sign a player who we have known about for quite some time and who we believe will have a really bright future with us. There is a lot to like about Cody. He is still only 23 years old but he already has a lot of experience. He was the captain of PSV, he was the Player of the Year in Holland last season and, as a lot of people have just seen, he also had a great World Cup with his national team.”
