Rangers get Champions League blow as PSV block Cody Gakpo exit
PSV Eindhoven have blocked the exit of Cody Gakpo before they take on Rangers in the Champions League playoff, according to the Daily Record.
The 23-year-old is garnering a lot of interest from the Premier League with Leeds United, Manchester United and Arsenal all keen on signing the Dutch Footballer of the Year for the 2021-22 season.
Gakpo really found his feet last season with 21 goals across all competitions and he began the new campaign with a brace as PSV beat FC Emmen 4-1 in the Eredivisie.
But even though they would sell the Dutch international for the right price, it won’t be before they have gone toe to toe with Rangers for a place in the Champions League group stages.
Gakpo was told of the news immediately after the current Dutch Cup holders beat AS Monaco of Ligue 1 in extra-time while the Light Blues came from two goals down to beat Royal Saint Union Gilloise of Belgium.
Bring it on
It almost sounds like Ruud van Nistelrooy is worried already about the famous Gers and their ability to shock the continent on a regular basis as he tries to hold on to his top scorer.
If he were to leave Eindhoven before the tie, then goals might be hard to come by for PSV and with the Ibrox atmosphere ready to swallow up anyone not prepared for the challenge, it would completely derail their intentions.
So it can’t come as a surprise that they want to keep him if they possibly can and his own desire to play Champions League football could even see him stay longer than the next couple of weeks.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst would have obviously preferred Gakpo not to be available to play but they have come up against some of Europe’s top talent in the past and beaten them.
Last season’s run to the Europa League final should give the Bears all the confidence they need to go out and do it all again on the big stage.
In other Rangers news, St Johnstone fans could boycott this weekend’s game at Ibrox as a fans group publicly blasts the Ibrox club.