Liverpool have signed forward Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.
ESPN reported that the transfer fee is around £37 million ($45m). PSV did not disclose the value of the deal, but general manager Marcel Brands stated it will be a “record transfer” for the club.
Liverpool defeated Manchester United to the signing of Gakpo. United boss Erik ten Hag was keen to sign the Netherlands international as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who left the club in November.
“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,” Gakpo said in a statement.
“I think this is a great club for me to come in and try to show what I can [do] 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.”
Gakpo, 23, emerged as a star of the World Cup in Qatar, scoring three goals for the Netherlands before their quarterfinal elimination at the hands of eventual champions Argentina.
The tournament came in the middle of a fruitful campaign in the Dutch Eredivisie for Gakpo. He contributed nine goals and 12 assists in 14 appearances for PSV this season. He also added three goals and two assists in five Europa League matches for the club.
“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. And personally, just to keep developing and become a better player every season,” Gakpo added.
With Colombia international Luis Diaz facing an extended period on the sidelines for a knee injury he aggravated during a midseason training break in Dubai, Liverpool stepped up their pursuit to sign Gakpo in the January window.
Leeds United and Southampton targeted a transfer for the left-sided forward last summer, and United boss Ten Hag persuaded the club to consider a move for the player late in the summer window.
It is the second time within a year that Liverpool defeats United to a signing, after they also pipped the Old Trafford club to the signing of Darwin Nunez in the summer.
