Cody Gakpo reportedly held ‘clear the air’ talks with the Liverpool hierarchy after they rebuffed an attempt by Manchester City to sign the winger.
In the final 24 hours of the summer transfer window, the Reds rejected an offer of up to £80m from the Etihad Stadium after the Netherlands international had purportedly decided to join Enzo Maresca’s side.
It had been thought that the 27-year-old would be allowed to leave if his current club signed another wide forward after the marquee addition of Bradley Barcola, but ultimately that didn’t transpire and the Dutchman remains at Anfield.
How has Gakpo taken Liverpool’s decision?
On Tuesday, Eindhovens Dagblad reported that Gakpo had spoken with Liverpool chiefs to ‘clear the air’ after they turned down the offer from Man City, with the collapse of the deal seemingly coming as a ‘complete surprise’.
While the report mentioned that the winger ‘will have to quickly get over the disappointment of a missed transfer’, another outlet has indicated that he’s taken the developments in a mature fashion.
According to TEAMtalk, the 27-year-old’s response ‘was a positive one’ as he understood Liverpool’s reasons for blocking the transfer, and our number 18 is set to ‘continue giving his all’ for Andoni Iraola’s side.
Gakpo partook in a gym session with his teammates at the AXA Training Centre yesterday and was ‘reported to be in good spirits’, and he’ll be available for selection for our game against Ipswich on Friday.
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Gakpo shows maturity over Liverpool blocking Man City move
That response from the Dutchman highlights why Liverpool made the right decision not to let him leave for Man City in the final 24 hours of the transfer window.
Allowing him to join a direct domestical rival would’ve infuriated the fan base, especially amid the winger’s strong start to the season, with a goal and an assist to his name after the first two Premier League games.
There’s been many stories in the past of players sulking and ‘downing tools’ after being deprived of a desired transfer, but it seems that Gakpo is professional enough to put that behind him and honour his commitment to the Reds by putting in maximum effort on the pitch.
The proof of that will become apparent in his performances over the next few weeks – if he continues in the same vein with which he’s started the campaign, it’d show that the 27-year-old remains all-in at Anfield, which can only be good news for Iraola and the fans.
The arrival of Barcola may have intensified competition for places in the starting XI, but the Dutchman is in a strong position to hold down a regular berth if he can maintain the levels he’s shown in recent matches.
Glad we kept him
The plan was to sell him to spurs, it fell through because it took so long to get Barcola.
Spurs in the end moved on fed up of waiting and brought in others.
Selling him to Manchester city was never an option.
Ŵow at long last we know we stand now we can move forward with what we have yes our window wasn’t that exciting but we must be happy with what ŵe got i hope Richard Hughes is gone now and our new man can start now with a search of two young midfield players may start now negotiating for Alex Scott and Adam Wharton I was looking for Richard to bring in.a right sided player William Gomes of Porto but he keep on going for Sarr even if told he’s not for sale he didn’t just care for us anymore now our manager must just do with what we have till next window let’s just hope and trust all will be well YNWA FOREVER.
During my time as an old man and teams typically play 442 or 352, right footers normally play on the right and left footers play on the left. Times have changed. I feel munoz is the best option as right forward right now. He provided an assist and scored in the 1st 2 games in that position. Let’s utilize him there for now and barcola can wreak havoc on the left.
Yeah, you’re a red old man and I’m an old red man, and I can agree with you on all counts there. I’d also play Munoz on the right as he’s shown he can play there. I’d also play Barcola on the left, given its his best position. It makes sense.