JUST IN: Why I joined Liverpool – Cody Gakpo

New Liverpool striker, Cody Gakpo has disclosed the reason he decided to join Premier League Club, Liverpool despite interest from Manchester United.

Gakpo came close to moving to England last summer with Manchester United heavily linked with him.

However, Liverpool moved quickly to sign the Dutch international before the January window officially opened.

“I think this is a great club for me to come in and try to show what I can [do] and try to help the team to achieve more beautiful moments that they already did in the past years.

“I think for me personally it’s also good to develop here and there’s a lot of great players here [who] I can learn a lot of things from,” Gakpo told Liverpool’s official website.

Gakpo also disclosed that Van Dijk played a key role in his joining the team.

“At the moment I was calling [in] with the coach, he came into the office of the coach and then he saw me and we chatted a little bit. We spoke a lot over the phone [in] the last days. What he told me was that this is the right move for me to make and for me to develop and to become a better player.

“That the club is a really big and massive club but also like a real family – I think that’s also very important for me because I’m a family guy. He said only good things. I’m also happy that he’s here, so he can help me with some stuff. I’m really grateful to be here.”

The Reds will pay up to £45m for the 23-year-old, who scored three times at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.