"I was in contact with the club and the manager" - Liverpool star opens up on his failed move to Manchester United

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo recently spoke about his failed transfer to Manchester United in the summer of 2022.

The Red Devils were interested in signing Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in 2022 following the appointment of Erik ten Hag as manager. The forward even spoke to the Dutch manager about a potential transfer. But United signed Antony from Ajax for a reported fee of £86 million and a deal for Gakpo fell through.

The 24-year-old stayed at PSV for six months before joining Liverpool in January 2023 for a reported fee of £44 million. He recently spoke about the situation, saying (via DaveocKop):

“It was the summer before. I was in contact with the club and the manager – 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. It was the best decision for me.”

Gakpo has been decent for the Reds so far, scoring 18 goals and providing eight assists in 63 games across competitions. He has, however, failed to nail down a starting spot with immense competition at Anfield with the likes of Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.

Antony, meanwhile, has struggled at Manchester United. He has scored nine goals and provided four assists in 71 games across competitions for them.

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Liverpool to face Manchester United in FA Cup quarter-finals

The two rivals will face off at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on March 17.

Liverpool beat Southampton 3-0 at Anfield in the fifth round to reach the quarters. They had previously beaten Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates in the third round and Norwich City 5-2 at Anfield in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, Manchester United beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 away in the third round, and Newport County 4-2 away in the fourth round. They then narrowly got past Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City ground in the fifth round.

Aside from the FA Cup though, the two sides have had a contrasting 2023-24 campaign so far. Liverpool have won the Carabao Cup and are at the top of the Premier League table. They are also set to face Sparta Praha in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16.

Manchester United, on the other hand, were eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the UEFA Champions League early on. They are sixth in the league standings, 16 points behind the Merseysiders.