Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo warms up for match vs Poland
Southampton have reportedly submitted an offer to sign PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo this summer, according to The Athletic.Â
The lowdown: Hot property
A product of the academy system at PSV, the 23-year-old has successfully come through the ranks at the Eredivisie giants and become a fully-fledged senior international in the process.
The attacker has directly contributed to 123 goals in 206 outings for his club at senior and youth levels, scoring 46 and providing 39 assists for the first team in the process.
Having previously been targeted by Manchester United, Leeds United, Arsenal and Everton, it now appears as though the Saints are also keen on bringing Gakpo to the Premier League…
The latest: ‘Concrete approach’
As per The Athletic, Southampton are understood to have made a ‘concrete approach’ to sign the seven-cap Netherlands star.
It’s claimed that the south coast club submitted an offer for Gakpo, although the bid was ‘turned down’ by PSV, with previous reports stating that the club will demand at least £42.5m for the player.
The report also states that the versatile forward – who was described as a ‘sensational player’ by Dutch football expert Michael Bell – is a ‘key target’ at St Mary’s and Rasmus Ankersen has ‘led talks’ with the ace’s club.
The verdict: Marquee target
Clearly a much sought-after commodity given the widespread interest in him, signing a player of Gakpo’s calibre would be a superb coup for Southampton and would suitably bolster the attacking options at Ralph Hasenhuttl’s disposal.
So far this season, the £27m-valued man has scored four times and provided six assists in just eight appearances across all competitions, earning a remarkable 8.70 SofaScore rating whilst winning 2.7 duels, completing one dribble and playing 2.7 key passes per game in the Dutch top flight.
With in-form marksman Che Adams still linked with a move away from St Mary’s, it’s important that Gakpo remains on the list of potential targets heading into the final days of the transfer window.
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