Leeds United: Cody Gakpo proves club made big summer mistake amid stunning form

Leeds United may well be regretting not signing Cody Gakpo this summer after he put in another fine performance over the weekend.

It’s certainly no secret that the Whites were on the hunt for a new forward over the summer, and it seems as though the PSV man was very much their primary target.

Indeed, according to Eindhoven Dagblad journalist Rik Elfrink (via LeedsLive), Jesse Marsch’s men even bid €43m (£37.6m) for Gakpo but that still wasn’t enough to get the deal done.

In a new development on the saga, it has been revealed PSV chief executive officer Marcel Brands that that bid was in fact made up of significant bonuses that would only arrive if Leeds secured Champions League football.

Brands told Voetbal International: “It was thirty million plus thirteen, with two million [of the] bonuses realistic. For example, we would get six million if they made it to the Champions League. This was the best offer and we all said no to that.

Taking Gakpo’s recent performances into account, it looks as though that unrealistic bid may have been a foolish thing to do.

TIF thoughts on Cody Gakpo and Leeds…

Up to this point in the season, the forward has been in blistering form. Indeed, in just 13 outings for PSV, he has scored 10 goals and provided nine assists.

In his most recent outing, Gakpo was particularly impressive too, contributing to every goal as he scored once and set up three more while captaining his side to a 4-3 win over Feyenoord.

In comparison, Leeds’ top scorer this term is Rodrigo who has four goals (six fewer than Gakpo) and then Jack Harrison has the most assists with three (again, six fewer than Gakpo).

On top of that, according to SofaScore the 23-year-old has been in the Eredivisie team of the week five times in seven games, averages a goal every 62 minutes, and has also shown he can score with either foot – netting three times on the left and five times with his right.

Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that the Whites are ‘planning to push again’ for the Dutchman but it seems unlikely that he will cost any less this winter after his blistering form. And so, it seems as though the club will be regretting their cheeky attempt to sign him with Champions League bonuses in the summer.