Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Chase World Cup Leading Scorer

Photo by ANP via Getty Images

The PSV attacker has been decisive for Holland thus far.

Back in the day, before complete in-depth stats and video analysis became available to any punter with an internet connection and £12.95 a month to spend, a World Cup would represent the largest possible stage for players to display their wares, and for athletes hailing from less heralded countries or plying their trade in leagues outside the big five, a unique one in that regard.

Liverpool have history in this arena, famously picking up Senegal standouts Salif Diao and El-Hadji Diouf after the country’s impressive performance in the 2002 World Cup, conveniently displaying to us the folly of this strategy, as the two players turned out to be an underwhelming talent and an historic prick, respectively.

Now, of course, any player making their way to a World Cup has already been analysed to the gills by the time they exit their teens, and the chances of a footballer coming out of nowhere and taking the scouting world by storm at the mundials is next to nil.

Nevertheless, with the majority of the sport’s eyes trained on the tournament, player performances will attract attention, and thus be good fodder for that most precious commodity, internet clicks.

As such, Cody Gakpo, already a transfer rumour favourite owing to his prolific record in the Eredivisie, has seen a rise in popularity following his performances in Qatar, where he has scored three goals in three games, notching one in each match as the Dutch have done enough to finish top of Group A.

The PSV winger has intermittently been linked with Liverpool — among many, many others — over the past few years, and on a surface level it makes sense, what with the 23-year old being a pacy wide forward who comes inside and generates shots like a striker and all, but concrete offers have never materialised.

As with most attackers coming out of the Dutch league, there will be questions about whether Gakpo can translate his production to the next level, but at any rate, if the Reds end up making a move for him, it will be the end product of years of scouting, not half a dozen good performances at an international tournament.