Jurgen Klopp hints at surprise revelation about Man Utd's Cody Gakpo pursuit

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has described his club having an ‘open door’ to sign Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven, leading to questions about what rivals Manchester United were doing when they were the side thought most likely to secure a deal for the winger.

With a transfer worth up to €50m already finalised and announced by both sides, Gakpo will be officially registered as a Liverpool player when the January transfer window opens on Sunday.

But his arrival at Anfield saw a bizarre turn of events unfold. The Reds had been loosely linked with Gakpo in the past, but the end of the summer saw Leeds and Southampton vying for his signature.

United had also been tracking him at that time, with Gakpo revealing in September that he had expected to move to Manchester before the summer deadline. However, he noted that interest from the club had seemed to fade shortly before the window closed.

But United resurrected their interest more recently, with Gakpo wanted by Erik ten Hag and favoured as a January target following the sudden departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November.

Until journalists were briefed that a Liverpool had all but wrapped up a deal for Gakpo, their interest had been kept extremely quiet in the public sphere – something which Klopp praised.

Given how it had been widely expected that Gakpo would be heading to United, it comes as a little surprising that Klopp admitted it was actually a bit of an open goal for Liverpool.

“Some of these nice moments you are manager of Liverpool, you think you have to convince someone and then you realise the door is wide open, so it’s more or less a home run,” he said.

Reports this week have suggested that current finances at Old Trafford amid a potential takeover have limited the club to pursuing loan deals in the January window. Compared to Liverpool’s willingness to buy Gakpo outright straightway, it appears to have cost them.