Glen Johnson has encouraged Liverpool to ‘hijack’ a move for Manchester United target Cody Gakpo during the January transfer window.
Erik ten Hag confirmed this week the club are looking to sign a new striker following Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure with Gakpo one of the options under consideration.
The United boss discussed the move with the PSV Eindhoven star in the summer before the club shifted their focus on signing Antony from Ajax.
But with United in need of more firepower, he is back on their radar having scored 13 times for PSV this season, adding another three for Netherlands at the World Cup.
Liverpool spent big to bring Darwin Nunez to the club in the summer but are still feeling the loss of Sadio Mane, who joined Bayern Munich. The Reds are also set to be without Luis Diaz until March with the Colombian suffering an injury setback.
With PSV said to be valuing Gakpo at £50million, former Liverpool defender Johnson insists Jurgen Klopp’s side should enter the race.
‘I’d encourage them to hijack the move purely for how good the player is rather than the fact he could be going to Manchester United,’ Johnson told GGRecon.
‘£50 million is cheap nowadays, so if you can get a young, quality player for that price, then you’ve got to do what you can to hijack it.’
Leeds United and Southampton were also among the clubs eager to sign Gakpo during the summer transfer window.
His current club PSV have suggested they will not stand in the forward’s way should they receive a club record offer in January. PSV’s record sale still stands at the €40million (£36m) fee they received when Napoli purchased Hirving Lozano in 2019.
‘You have to be realistic. If you talk about Cody Gakpo and the price tag attached to him, there may be 10 to 12 clubs in Europe that can afford him,’ Brands told PSV supporters’ club talk show Eeuwig Trouw.
‘Amounts have not been discussed, but if the right club comes that Cody would like to go. Those agreements were already made before I came.
‘It must be a record transfer for PSV anyway. Then you know in which direction it should go.’
MORE : PSV Eindhoven give Manchester United target Cody Gakpo the green light to leave in January for right offer
MORE : Paul Merson fears Premier League leaders Arsenal will miss out on top-four unless they sign Man Utd target Cody Gakpo
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