Cody Gakpo almost ruined his opportunities to go to Liverpool thanks to someone else's own goal.
The Dutchman came over from PSV Eindhoven to the Reds during the transfer period of January 2023. Since then he played more than 100 games for Liverpool, scored 37 goals and is on track for the most productive campaign from his merseyside career to date.
But Gakpo would never have become a Liverpool player at all. Both Manchester United and Leeds and Southampton were interested six months earlier to contract him.
And Gakpo has now revealed why he initially struck a transfer before he chose to sign at Liverpool. Gakpo wrote in the Players' Tribune: “Then, in the summer of 2022, United went for Antony. I thought: what should I do? At this point I could go to Leeds, Southampton, or I could stay with PSV.
“I prayed and asked God for guidance. But you see, I had to make sure I got his message. So I said: if I only score once, I will go to Southampton…. If I score twice, I go to Leeds…. If I score three times, I will stay.
“The next day we played and I scored twice. I was also involved in a third goal, and in the first instance that was called my own goal. Then I was sent away. So two goals, right? I thought: ah, okay, then it's Leeds. I was at peace with my decision.
“While I was sitting on the couch, I told my friend Jordan Teze, who is now playing for Monaco, the whole story. He said, “If God wants you to stay, that own goal will be allocated to you.” It was like a toss with coins, waiting for what they decided. It could have been both sides! But after the game they gave me the goal. I scored three, so my destiny changed. I stayed with PSV. “
The decision to wait for his time seems to have certainly benefited Gakpo. He scored seven goals in his first season at Liverpool, followed by sixteen goals last season when Liverpool won the Carabao Cup in the last season of Jürgen Klopp.
The 25-year-old already scored fourteen goals last season, while his last against Ipswich yielded five goals in his last six Premier League performances. He strives to expand that electrical form in the coming week.
The Reds travel to Gakpo's former PSV team in their latest Champions League group match of the season. They will compete against Bournemouth, away from home, in shape during the weekend.
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