Liverpool announce Gakpo! Reds complete £44m transfer of star Dutch forward from PSV

• Deal announced Wednesday
• Beat Man Utd to sign forward
• Will provide relief to depleted attack

WHAT HAPPENED? The Reds have confirmed the arrival of Gakpo, who scored three World Cup goals for the Netherlands and has netted 12 times in all competitions for PSV this term. He will enter a Liverpool attack currently without Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino because of injury; those fitness concerns and transfer interest from rival clubs pushed the Reds to act immediately for the player.

Klopp has personally held interest in Gakpo for a long time and club leadership are believed to have hammered out the deal across just three days of talks with PSV on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Liverpool are on the outside of the top four picture as it stands and want to keep up with potential January spending from other contenders such as Chelsea and Newcastle. They now have Gakpo in their ranks on a contract believed to run until 2028.

WHAT DID THEY SAY? “I feel really good, I'm really excited to be here," Gakpo said in a club statement. "I'm looking forward to start training and start playing for this amazing club.

“I think this is a great club for me to come in and try to show what I can [do] and try to help the team to achieve more beautiful moments that they already did in the past years. “I think for me personally it's also good to develop here and there's a lot of great players here [who] I can learn a lot of things from.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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THE VERDICT: Gakpo could play off the left wing, as a striker or as a No.10 under Jurgen Klopp. See his full range of options in this analysis of the new Anfield arrival.

DID YOU KNOW? Gakpo will be the first Dutch attacker to appear for Liverpool in a Premier League match since Dirk Kuyt when he makes his debut.

WHAT NEXT FOR GAKPO? Once the 23-year-old is officially registered, he will look to play as soon as possible, however the Reds are wary of rushing him into the fold after his World Cup run. Liverpool hope he can get up to speed enough to start on January 21 against Chelsea, but it's too early to put a firm timeframe on his integration into the team.