• Cody Gakpo was close to joining Southampton in the summer of 2022.Then, at PSV, Gakpo was coming off a season in which he contributed 25 goals in the Eredivisie and appeared ready for a major summer transfer.

  Manchester United expressed interest in the Dutchman but decided against making a formal offer because of worries about Financial Fair Play.

  As a result, the race for Gakpo’s signature appeared to be a straight shootout between Southampton and Leeds United, who also happen to be recent play-off final opponents.

  In actuality, Gakpo reversed course and chose to remain at PSV that summer, eventually completing a transfer to Liverpool in January of the following year.

Cody Gakpo reveals why he didn’t sign for Southampton

When it looked like Southampton would finalize a deal for the forward in the final days of August, there was a lot of excitement in the area.

With his impressive play, this player appeared to be the big-name addition that Southampton fans have been waiting for. His talent might have made the real difference between Southampton’s relegation and promotion.

But he chose not to sign, and Southampton struggled to score, managing only 36 goals in 38 league games.

ESPN and the Netherlands team collaborated to produce a brief documentary on each member of the team in the lead-up to the European Championships this summer. Gakpo disclosed the peculiar reason he declined to sign with the Saints in this particular episode.”Gakpo is left with three real options,” according to ESPN: joining Leeds United, moving to Southampton, or remaining at PSV.

“You have a tough decision to make, so you go to prayer to talk to God and ask for wisdom,” the World Cup star, who struggles with decision-making, says in his documentary. That makes sense to me.

The resident of Eindhoven is first coy about how he arrived at his decision, but he soon lets it all out: “People might think I’m strange.” Leeds entered the race, Southampton was an option, and PSV wanted me to stay.

“I presented the three options I had to God. If I scored once, I would go to Southampton. If I scored twice I would go to Leeds and if I scored three I would stay at PSV.”

Gakpo hat-trick prevented Southampton move

Gakpo was alluding to the August 31, 2022, PSV game against Volendam.

It’s an intriguing approach to make such a significant career decision based on the number of goals you score in a single match, but sadly for Southampton, Gakpo scored his first career hat-trick in a 7-1 victory that evening.

Because of those goals, Gakpo pledged his immediate future to the Dutch team. However, Liverpool moved quickly to sign the now 25-year-old after he scored 21 goals in just 14 league games and had a stellar winter World Cup in Qatar.
Gakpo would have been miles ahead of Southampton’s attacking players in a season in which they finished last in the league, even though he has occasionally found it difficult to truly make an impact at Liverpool.

Fate, however, had other plans for Southampton, and four months later he arrived at Anfield, where he has stayed ever since.