Cody Gakpo does not rule out that he will think more seriously about a longer stay at PSV if the group stage of the Champions League is reached. The attacker, who has been linked to a foreign adventure throughout the transfer window, states after the 4-1 win against FC Emmen on Saturday that the result in the preliminary rounds of the billion-dollar ball does play a role in his decision.
PSV fans, who were made happy on Sunday morning with the contract extension of Ibrahim Sangaré, fear that Gakpo will leave abroad this summer. However, achieving the Champions League could ensure that the people of Eindhoven keep the selection together. “It is possible that if PSV makes it to the Champions League, I will stay,” confirms Gakpo in conversation with Hans Kraay junior of ESPN. “Getting the Champions League with PSV makes it more likely to stay.
Those statements indicate that next Tuesday’s game against AS Monaco and any duels in the Champions League play-offs are very crucial for PSV and for Gakpo. “I have never said anywhere that I want to leave,” emphasizes the attacker. “The chance that I will stay is there anyway. We just have to see how it will develop and eventually I will make my choice.”
Gakpo won the season overture at FC Emmen’s own home on Saturday evening with PSV. The PhD student from Drenthe had little to say in the Philips Stadium and was beaten 4-1, partly due to two goals from Gakpo. In the end, the ‘Eintovenaar’ was replaced by coach Ruud van Nistelrooij with a view to the match against Monaco, but he would have preferred to continue. The 22-year-old attacker seemed on his way to a hat-trick and he would have liked to have made it.