Leeds United are now leading the race to sign Cody Gakpo on transfer deadline day.
What’s the latest?
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, with the Italian journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that Leeds have taken the lead in the race to sign the £40m PSV Eindhoven winger this summer, with Victor Orta pushing to land the 23-year-old ahead of Southampton – who also remain in pursuit of the Netherlands international.
In his tweet, the transfer insider said: “Leeds are now leading the race to sign Cody Gakpo! PSV have still not accepted any bid from Southampton or Leeds but LUFC now pushing to get it done. Fight still open, but Leeds are trying to tempt Gakpo despite Southampton proposal.”
Just like Haaland
Considering just how much ability Gakpo quite clearly possesses, in addition to the forward having been linked with a number of top six clubs over the course of the summer, should Orta manage to get a deadline day deal over the line for the Dutchman, it would undoubtedly represent a huge coup for Leeds.
Indeed, over his four Eredivisie appearances so far this season, the £27m-rated talent has been in incredible form, having already scored six goals, registered three assists and created five big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 4.8 shots – 3.0 of which have hit the target – making 2.5 key passes and completing 1.3 dribbles per game.
These returns have seen the 23-year-old average a simply astonishing SofaScore match rating of 9.03, ranking him not only as PSV’s best performer in the league but also by far and away the best player in the Dutch top flight as a whole in 2022/23.
For comparison, over Erling Haaland’s five Premier League appearances for Manchester City this season, the £135m-rated forward has scored nine goals, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 4.4 shots – 2.4 of which have hit the target – making 0.4 key passes and completing 0.6 dribbles per fixture.
These returns have seen the 22-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 8.14, not only ranking him as Pep Guardiola’s best performer in the league but also as the best player in the English top flight as a whole so far this term.
As such, while it is undeniable that the Premier League is a more challenging division than Eredivisie, it is nevertheless clear to see that Gakpo is performing at a very similar – if not better – level to the Norwegian sensation so far this season – something that, considering Romano’s latest update, is sure to be an extremely exciting thought for both Leeds supporters and Jesse Marsch alike.
