Premier League manager reveals the club were on the verge of signing Cody Gakpo – deal was 99.9% done before collapsing | OneFootball

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·3 December 2022

Premier League manager reveals the club were on the verge of signing Cody Gakpo – deal was 99.9% done before collapsing

Article image:Premier League manager reveals the club were on the verge of signing Cody Gakpo – deal was 99.9% done before collapsing

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has revealed that the club was on the verge of signing in-demand attacker Cody Gakpo in the summer.

Leeds pursued the Dutch star for much of the summer, with reports at the time pointing to a likely conclusion of the deal, with Marsch joining Leeds.


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However, Gakpo chose to stay with PSV for at least a few months, forcing Leeds to look elsewhere, eventually signing Wilfried Gnonto from FC Zurich on deadline day.

Speaking on the Men in Blazers podcast, the Leeds manager revealed just how close they came to signing him and admitted that he may now be out of their reach. He said (via Vital Football):

‘We were so close to securing a transfer for him in summer. I mean, it was so close and now obviously it’s disappointing for us.

‘Our sports director was in Holland and was meeting with the family, had agreed on terms on everything, was talking with PSV. I mean, we were 99.9 per cent [of the way there], so I felt bad for Victor Orta and all the effort that he put into it.

‘I talked to Cody in the process, and I’m happy for him to have had so much success here at the World Cup and I think show everybody how good he is.’

Article image:Premier League manager reveals the club were on the verge of signing Cody Gakpo – deal was 99.9% done before collapsing

Cody Gakpo was on the verge of signing for Leeds in the summer

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The reason for him staying at PSV is said to have something to do with Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal who advised him to stay at PSV ahead of the World Cup.

The 23-year-old has been enjoying the world cup in Qatar having scored 3 goals so far for his country, one each against Senegal, Ecuador and the host nation.

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