Jurgen Klopp has explained why Liverpool swooped in to sign Cody Gakpo after the Reds officially confirmed his arrival on Merseyside.
Gakpo had been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United, but it is their rivals who have stormed in to bring him to the Premier League. The attacker is one of the most highly-rated young players in Europe, having starred in the Eredivisie.
It is Liverpool who have managed to complete a deal to sign him though, with PSV's announcement of a provisional deal causing surprise on Boxing Day. Gakpo travelled to England to complete his medical on Wednesday, with the Reds confirming his arrival that evening.
The 23-year-old will officially link up with his new team-mates from Sunday and is in line to feature against Brentford on Monday. And Klopp has admitted his excitement at being able to deploy Gakpo as part of his high-powered attack.
“It really is great news for us that we have been able to do it and I have to say it has been a fantastic job by everyone involved, especially Julian. The work that has gone into this has been really impressive," Klopp said.
"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.
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“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. So, it is clear that he is already a really, really good player.
"His age also means he also has the potential to become even better. Offensively, he is very versatile and on top of this we know he is a smart footballer and also a smart person, so we are really excited to be able to work with him.”
Likewise, Gakpo is also keen to get started with his new team, as they look to seal a Champions League qualification place. And he made it clear that his aim is to bring trophies to Anfield.
“I feel really good, I’m really excited to be here. I’m looking forward to start training and start playing for this amazing club. I think this is a great club for me to come in and try to show what I can," he said.
"And try to help the team to achieve more beautiful moments that they already did in the past years. I think for me personally it’s also good to develop here and there’s a lot of great players here [who] I can learn a lot of things from.
“I heard a lot of great stories about the stadium, about the atmosphere. I cannot wait. Obviously [my aim is] to win as many prizes as we can as a team, to perform well, to show the world what we can do as a team and what I can do as a player."
