Cody Gakpo comments on how he came close to joining Manchester United

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Cody Gakpo has revealed that he was close to signing for Manchester United before the Netherlands international signed for Liverpool in 2023.

Many of the players thriving in the Premier League were on Manchester United’s radar at one point.

Ruben Amorim hopes that in the coming years, United players will be the examples of those thriving the most, but that also requires significant improvement in recruitment to achieve.

United signed five new players in the summer, including two with Premier League experience.

That included revamping the attacking department after letting Antony and Alejandro Garnacho leave on permanent deals, as well as several exits on loan.

United are constantly on the lookout for fresh talent, which explains the attempts to sign Colombian starlet Cristian Orozco in a similar type of deal to Diego Leon from Cerro Porteno.

Cody Gakpo reflects on Man Utd interest

It was the summer of 2022, and Erik ten Hag was in the market for a wide player to help United’s attacking output following his arrival from Ajax.

United spent the entire summer chasing Frenkie de Jong to strengthen the midfield, but Ten Hag also considered a move for Gakpo, who had been starring as a youngster for PSV Eindhoven.

The opportunity to join United would pass for Gakpo as Ten Hag shifted his priority towards Brazil international Antony after working with him in Amsterdam.

Speaking to Amazon Prime, Gakpo reflected on the summer of 2022 when Antony was picked ahead of him to sign for United.

“Yeah, it was the summer of 2022. It was deadline day I guess yeah,” Gakpo said.

“The weeks before there was a lot of interest, maybe I was going to United and stuff, but they ended up buying Antony. So I couldn’t go there anymore.”

Antony flopped at United, and in hindsight, it looks like poor business to have skipped on Gakpo. That would ignore the fact Gakpo has just 27 league goals in almost 100 appearances for Liverpool.

Cody Gakpo faces Man Utd next

Once the international break concludes, the Premier League will return. That means a trip to Anfield for United, with Liverpool desperate to get back to winning ways.

Gakpo has faced United six times since moving to England. The Dutch winger has been victorious on two occasions and scored three goals.

Amorim and his players will be looking to make it a tough afternoon for Liverpool next week. It’s a chance for the United head coach to win back-to-back games in the Premier League for the first time.

Arne Slot is likely to select Gakpo in his starting line-up for the game.