If Cody Gakpo had gotten his wish, a man who joined Liverpool in a £37 million move from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023 probably would have ended up a few miles down the road at Manchester United instead.
His former PSV boss, a certain Ruud van Nistelrooy, admitted that Gakpo’s ‘dream move‘ was not Liverpool but their north west neighbours.
And, had Manchester United not used up so much of their budget bringing another Eredivisie forward to Old Trafford – Antony eventually setting the Red Devilsback £82 million in another example of why an elite recruitment team are so badly needed – Gakpo’s ‘dream’ might have become a reality.
“It was the summer. I was in contact with the club (Man United) and the manager,” Gakpo tells Sky, opening up on his discussions with compartriot Erik Ten Hag. “He’s Dutch, so I spoke to him as well.
“At the end of the day, it fell through. That’s it. And, in the winter, Liverpool came.”
Manchester United target turned down Liverpool
As such, with every goal Gakpo scores – and there’s not all that many, to be honest – Man United supporters can at least console themselves with reminding their Liverpool neighbours that they were only second choice in the former PSV skipper’s list of priorities.
And another player on Man United’s radar – and one who could still end up at Old Trafford – did not seem overly intrigued by the chance to work under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
The agent of Jean-Clair Todibo, the talented, ball-playing Nice defender who has been under consideration by the Red Devils for around 12 months now, was offered the chance to join Liverpool back in 2019, when his contract at Toulouse was expiring and some of the biggest clubs in Europe were making their interest known.
“(Napoli director Cristiano) Giuntoli asked me,” Bruno Satin admitted this week, the Frenchman’s agent speaking to Neopolitan radio station Kiss Kiss. “But there were Liverpool, Juventus and Leverkusen. But then the boy wanted Barcelona.”
Ineos feel Jean-Clair Todibo is ‘perfect’ signing
Todibo understandably struggled to establish himself at a Barca side where Gerard Pique still had the right-sided centre-back spot nailed down. Now 24, Todibo’s development has come on leaps and bounds across the Channel at Nice, a club also owned by Ineos.
The connections between one Sir Jim Ratcliffe-controlled club and another should, in theory, make Man United’s task that little bit easier should they opt to step up their pursuit of the £40 million-rated stopper. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite may be emerging as United’s leading centre-back target but, with Raphael Varane likely to go, another may be required with Ineos expected to preside over a long-overdue overhaul of the club’s defensive ranks.
Speaking to The United Stand, Romano claims to have heard that some at Ineos feel Todibo would be the ‘perfect centre-back for Manchester United’.
United have also been linked with Todibo’s Nice team-mates Melvin Bard and Khephren Thuram. Luton Town playmaker Ross Barkley, who played for Los Aiglons last season, is another man mentioned.
