'There comes a time when you can't say no' - Van Nistelrooy accepts Gakpo can leave in January
PSV head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy accepts that in-demand striker Cody Gakpo is set to leave the club during the January transfer window.
Gakpo has been linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Liverpool after impressing at Qatar 2022 with the Netherlands.
The 23-year-old became only the second player in World Cup history, after Italy's Alessandro Altobelli in 1986, to open the scoring in all three matches in the same group stage.
He failed to find the net in the round of 16 against the United States and Argentina, with the latter ending a penalty shootout for the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
>PSV director of football Marcel Brands recently said that only a club record would scare him away, and Van Nistelrooy will not stand in the way of Gakpo should he wish to leave.
“I enjoyed watching him [in Qatar]. He deserves it because of the way he behaved, the way he kept working and performing,” Van Nistelrooy told Voetbal International.
"I was able to help him very closely and that makes me proud. And then I will give him his way when he comes.
"If I have a choice, I prefer summer [the window], but it can also be now. You just know there comes a time when you can't say no."
Gakpo has 17 goals and eight assists in 31 appearances this season, including nine league-leading goals in the Eredivisie.
Speaking during the Netherlands' World Cup campaign, Gakpo said he would 'consider' any interest that comes in from Man Utd, who expressed an interest earlier this year.
>"I thought about Manchester United before, but when it didn't happen, I didn't know anymore and started to doubt," Gakpo said.
"Then Leeds United arrived and I wondered if I should go. Now I'll wait for everything. I haven't heard from Manchester United yet, but when they come I'll think about it. "
PSV won't be back in the league until January 7 when they host Sparta Rotterdam at the Philips Stadium.
PSV head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy accepts that in-demand striker Cody Gakpo is set to leave the club during the January transfer window.
Gakpo has been linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Liverpool after impressing at Qatar 2022 with the Netherlands.
The 23-year-old became only the second player in World Cup history, after Italy's Alessandro Altobelli in 1986, to open the scoring in all three matches in the same group stage.
He failed to find the net in the round of 16 against the United States and Argentina, with the latter ending a penalty shootout for the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
>PSV director of football Marcel Brands recently said that only a club record would scare him away, and Van Nistelrooy will not stand in the way of Gakpo should he wish to leave.
“I enjoyed watching him [in Qatar]. He deserves it because of the way he behaved, the way he kept working and performing,” Van Nistelrooy told Voetbal International.
"I was able to help him very closely and that makes me proud. And then I will give him his way when he comes.
"If I have a choice, I prefer summer [the window], but it can also be now. You just know there comes a time when you can't say no."
Gakpo has 17 goals and eight assists in 31 appearances this season, including nine league-leading goals in the Eredivisie.
Speaking during the Netherlands' World Cup campaign, Gakpo said he would 'consider' any interest that comes in from Man Utd, who expressed an interest earlier this year.
>"I thought about Manchester United before, but when it didn't happen, I didn't know anymore and started to doubt," Gakpo said.
"Then Leeds United arrived and I wondered if I should go. Now I'll wait for everything. I haven't heard from Manchester United yet, but when they come I'll think about it. "
PSV won't be back in the league until January 7 when they host Sparta Rotterdam at the Philips Stadium.
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