Player Report
Coady Gakpo is a Dutch PSV Academy graduate who plays for the Netherlands national team. In the season 2021-2022 he won the Dutch Footballer of the Year Award. An accolade determined by votes from players in the top Dutch leagues. Previous winners include Ruud Gullit, Romario and Dennis Bergkamp. More recent names are Georginio Wijnaldum, Hakim Ziyech and Matthijis De Ligt.
Since making his debut for PSV in 2018 Cody has scored 29 goals in 94 appearances. Roughly a goal scoring record of 1 goal in every 3 games. In 2021/2022 he scored 12 goals in 22 Eredivisie games for PSV. His most prolific season to date. I would describe Gakpo as a #14. A right footed left forward who can be dangerous cutting inside from the wing.
Various reports have linked Cody with a move to the Premier League this summer. So I took a keen interest in watching him against Rangers in the Champions League Play-Off 2nd Leg. The score was 2-2 at Ibrox in the first leg. The winning team would progress into the Champions League. The Losing side would be relegated to the Europa League. This is my report on Gakpo's performance in the return fixture.
Lining up on the left side of a 4-2-3-1 formation, PSV's young star made some great runs and because of his intelligent play he found himself in goal scoring positions. Coady had the most attempts on goal in the match (5) with 3/5 attempts being on target. Let's call that 60% shooting accuracy. Gakpo attempted 38 passes in the match and completed 29 of them, which results in a passing accuracy of 76%. PSV were the home team so as you would expect they dominated possession over Rangers. PSV won that battle by 55% to 45% but of course possession doesn't win games. Gakpo seemed at home playing possession football. He certainly has the technique to play for a team expected to keep the ball.
In the first half Coady spotted some space, made a clever diagonal run from the left wing and found himself in between the 2 Rangers Central Defenders. A combination of defensive pressure and bad decision making caused Cody to rush a golden opportunity. He checked inside onto his right when he could’ve held off Goldson and taken the chance on his left.
To be fair, the Goal Keeper was in a decent position and Sands was approaching to block, which is probably why Cody decided to check inside. Sands was beaten by the dribble, but Gakpo looked off-balance and was leaning forward when he struck the ball. The shot went over the bar. Unlucky maybe?
In the 2nd half the PSV captain was involved in the build up. He drifted into a space between the centre back and full back on the right hand side, then held his run waiting for the pass.
When the ball came through, Gakpo forced the keeper to make a save. But he couldn’t beat him. It feels harsh to write this, but ultimately Cody’s finishing let him down and PSV were knocked out of the UCL. Despite the young Dutchman failing to convert two good chances in a high stakes game, I do think the lad is an amazing talent. He’ll surely learn from this experience.
Overall Gakpo showed his technical ability, tactical awareness, pace, skill and attacking threat against Rangers. Considering that he was wearing the arm band, there may be a leadership quality to him too. In my opinion Cody Gakpo is a dangerous attacker with a lot of potential. His physical gifts would do well in the Premier League and I'm sure everyone would be impressed with his outstanding footballing ability. But you don't have to take my word for it. Just check out his highlight reel.
Business End of the Season
It’s guaranteed that I’ll be incorporating the FA’s official scouting techniques as well as all the other ideas I’ve picked up over the years. If you like what I’m doing with FCM Scout feel free to contact me on Twitter and to get involved on the Twitch streams too.
I’d welcome the opportunity to scout professionally. So I’m open to offering my services to any Football organisation, including Football Clubs, Football Agencies and Media or Broadcasting companies. Please email me to discuss any business enquires.
