On the one side, there was a Dutch coach, with a clear respect for players who have achieved well in Dutch football. But on the other, there was the captain of the Netherlands, Virgil Van Dijk, who turned out to be a persuasive voice in the choices facing Cody Gakpo.
Gakpo, a breakout star of the World Cup, listened to Liverpool’s Van Dijk and it helped him to the decision that means he is spending the last days of 2022 finalising a move from PSV Eindhoven to Anfield.
“Quality is always welcome at Liverpool,” said Van Dijk, anticipating the arrival of his gifted compatriot. It is a transfer in which Manchester United, who had a sustained and active interest in recruiting Gakpo, have finished as bystanders.
United’s manager, Dutchman Erik ten Hag, will now focus attention elsewhere, but he remains an admirer of Gakpo, having watched the 23-year-old come through the academy at PSV and win last season’s Eredivisie Footballer of the Year Award ahead of players from Ten Hag’s then club, Ajax, who won the league.
Gakpo was certainly on United’s wishlist in the summer, when, with Ten Hag taking over, Antony and Lisandro Martinez were signed from Ajax and Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord. With Cristiano Ronaldo departing Old Trafford last month, a new striker became a priority for the winter window, which opens on January 1.
Gakpo was on the United agenda. He may not be an out-and-out centre-forward but he is a goalscorer of many assets and huge potential. Liverpool have staged what they believe is a significant ambush by making a deal with PSV that offered the selling club a bigger up-front tranche – of a fee that could rise over €50 million – than other suitors had proposed.
“It is a record transfer fee for PSV,” confirmed the Dutch club’s general manager Marcel Brands, soothing supporters’ concerns about the team’s stellar player departing mid-season with the positive implications of substantial sums to be reinvested.
“There comes a moment when you can’t say no,” admitted PSV coach Ruud van Nistelrooy, himself a former United striker. “If I had a choice I would choose that he left in the summer.”
Van Nistelrooy has largely used Gakpo’s surging acceleration and his powerful shot from wide on the left of the PSV attack – to great effect. He had racked up 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 club matches across competitions in the first half of the season leading up to the World Cup.
Netherlands lose out to Argentina
In Qatar, he put on display his wide range of qualities and his maturity, operating just off a central striker, on the wing or sometimes as a target man, and taking responsibility for delivering many of the Netherlands’ set-pieces.
He scored in each group match: a headed goal, using his leap and 1.89-metre height to beat Senegal goalkeeper Edu Mendy; he followed up with a forceful left-footed drive against Ecuador on match day two. He put the Dutch on the way to their 2-0 win over Qatar with a precise right-footed finish.
“He is open to anything,” said Louis Van Gaal, the veteran coach who took charge of the national team at the World Cup, “and he always gives his all. He has huge talent and a great personality.”
Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, looks forward to being the gleeful inheritor of all that. Klopp was kept up to date with the progress of his club’s talks with PSV, aware that several major clubs were keen on recruiting Gakpo in either the winter, or summer 2023, transfer windows.
Liverpool’s need was urgent, Klopp persuaded his executives, with the race for a top-four Premier League spot – and guaranteed Champions League football next season – made more challenging by a flat start to the 2022-23 campaign. Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, key players for the wide roles in Klopp’s attacking trio, are also recovering from injury and unavailable until at least February and March, respectively.
If Gakpo were to make anything like the same quick impact as Diaz, signed from Porto 11 months ago, Klopp would be delighted. Last season, the Colombian galvanised a Champions League run that ended at the final with key contributions in the knockout ties against Benfica and Villarreal and added energy to a vibrant domestic season that yielded triumphs in both English cups and a second place in the Premier League.
The capture of Diaz, like that of Gakpo, meant stealthily trumping rival interest, with Liverpool stealing ahead of Tottenham Hotspur to seal the deal.
Gakpo’s imminent arrival also represents the latest stage in the long-term plan to transition from the era in which Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane made themselves the three established musketeers of Klopp’s front line.
Mane joined Bayern Munich last summer, and like Salah and Firmino, is now in his 30s. In three successive transfer windows, over €150m has now been staked on their successors, in the shape of Diaz, 25, Darwin Nunez, 23, and Gakpo.
AWARDS
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57%20Seconds
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Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
September 30
South Africa v Australia
Argentina v New Zealand
October 7
South Africa v New Zealand
Argentina v Australia
