Who is Cody Gakpo? Manchester United target primed to grace Champions League stage at Ibrox in Rangers vs. PSV clash

Dom Farrell

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Who is Cody Gakpo? Manchester United target primed to grace Champions League stage at Ibrox in Rangers vs. PSV clash image

Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes have all told Manchester United’s board that they need to sign new players before the transfer window shuts, according to a report by the Mirror.

It is unclear whether those players will be informing the Old Trafford hierarchy over the Pope’s religious preferences over the next couple of weeks.

Erik ten Hag’s nightmare start to life as United boss is the sort of headline-grabbing phenomenon that is never good news for a new era. His senior players unquestionably have a point. There is need for new blood and has been all summer.

Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen each endured chastening outings in the 4-0 loss at Brentford, while Tyrell Malacia replaced the beleaguered Shaw at half-time.

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Those three signings won’t be enough and right-wing has long been a problem position for United.

One candidate touted to fill that particular void is PSV’s Cody Gakpo. The 23-year-old is set to feature in his team’s Champions League playoff encounter with Rangers on Tuesday night, and United fans and others will be keen to see what all the fuss is about.

Who is Cody Gakpo? Goals and assists records for PSV 

Gakpo is a product of PSV’s celebrated youth academy, which he joined as an eight-year-old. After progressing through the ranks and featuring for Jong PSV, he made his Eredivisie debut in February 2018 as a late substitute in a 3-1 win over Feyenoord.

A first top-flight goal came against Fortuna Sittard the following season, which he ended with five Eredivisie assists. Gakpo’s minutes continued to increase and by 2020/21 he was a regular starter.

Already an admired talent, his efforts last term truly made some of the continent’s biggest clubs sit up and take notice. Gakpo showed irresistible form and finished with 17 goals and 13 assists in all competitions.

Does Cody Gakpo play for the Netherlands?

Despite also being eligible for Ghana and Togo, Gakpo played for the country of his birth through the youth ranks, scoring seven times in 13 appearances for Netherlands Under-21s

He was called into Frank de Boer’s Netherlands squad for Euro 2020 and made his debut as a substitute in the group game against North Macedonia.

It proved to be Gakpo’s only appearance of the tournament as a last-16 defeat to the Czech Republic cost De Boer his job.

Nevertheless, the young winger has continued to feature under Louis van Gaal and strikes against Montenegro in World Cup qualifying and Wales in the Nations League mean he has two goals in seven caps.

What is Cody Gakpo’s best position?

Although he’s right-footed, Gakpo has thrived operating predominantly on the left-wing for PSV. That strange sound you can hear is thousands of Manchester United fans rolling their eyes.

Jadon Sancho arrived as the supposed answer to United’s right-wing problem at the start of last season but has flattered to deceive, having earned rave reviews from the left for Borussia Dortmund.

Anthony Martial impressed during pre-season at centre-forward and that’s where Ronaldo will play if he stays, but both naturally tack towards the left-hand side, where Marcus Rashford was the pick for the first two games of the Premier League season.

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Which other teams want to sign Cody Gakpo? How much would PSV winger cost?

Arsenal were also touted as admirers of Gakpo, although the impressive start to the season made by Mikel Arteta’s new-look forward line spearheaded by Gabriel Jesus means their need no longer feels quite so pressing.

When ESPN reported United as having registered an interest in Gakpo earlier in August, PSV’s valuation of £35million was quoted.

This is a price tag that would place him within reach for several Premier League clubs. Leeds United and newly promoted Nottingham Forest have each spent heavily this summer and are also presumed to be admirers of Gakpo.

The latter two would stand as contrasting alternatives to United, where the appeal of a new project must be weighed against the vast list of talented young players who have moved to Old Trafford and seen their careers stall over recent years.

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.