Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo reflects on ‘tough summer … in football and life’

Cody Gakpo has reflected on a “very tough” summer that ended with the collapse of a transfer to Manchester City, revealing Liverpool changed their minds about letting him join their top-flight rivals.

The forward scored a superb stoppage-time equaliser to earn the Netherlands a 1-1 draw in Thursday’s Nations League game against Germany, who are coached by his former club manager Jürgen Klopp. It continues a bright start to the season for Gakpo, who was an £80m target for City in August before talks stalled. Earlier in the summer he was struck by tragedy, announcing with his partner, Noa van der Bij, that their second son had died during pregnancy.

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“It was a difficult summer for me, and my family, and everything surrounding football and life,” Gakpo said, when asked whether he thought he was going to leave Liverpool. “I just let it come, and it ended how it ended.”

It was put to Gakpo that Liverpool were willing to let him go before changing their minds. “Spot-on,” he replied. “I cannot choose. So then I have to just try to do what I’m good at, and that’s playing football. I can be very worried about everything that could happen, or that didn’t happen, or whatever, but that wouldn’t help the situation.

“It’s a very long story. The summer was very tough regarding everything. So I just let everything be and see how it came and it worked out in this way.”

Gapko has refused to sulk since the move to City broke down, scoring in Liverpool’s opening-weekend draw against Newcastle and in their Carabao Cup win over Spurs. He has also recorded five assists.

“It’s not about my character,” he said. “I’m now at the point that I don’t mind, I just want to enjoy football with my friends, with my teammates. I want to enjoy my life and whatever happens, happens. If I have no control over the situation, I will not worry. So I just do my job with that.”

Gakpo admitted he “could do much better than I did last year” in a disappointing season for Liverpool that ended with the departure of Arne Slot. His value at Anfield was underlined by Virgil van Dijk, his national-team captain and Anfield teammate, who sang Gakpo’s praises following his last-gasp volley.

“If people didn’t appreciate Cody before, personally I don’t understand it,” Van Dijk said. “But I think it was a no-brainer for us as a team and a club to keep him. There were talks but, in my eyes, you can’t let him go and that’s why I said it. He is a friend as well. Ours, please – let’s keep it that way.”