Soccer-Gakpo flattered by transfer speculation but wants to focus on Qatar

Published In Public Interest by thebengalurulive.com

He had been the subject of transfer speculation before the season as well but proposed deals did not emerge and he has since helped his club into the knockout stages of the Europa League. “I’m trying not to think much about that. I try to do my best … to help the team,” he said.

“The coach (Louis van Gaal) is very demanding. He always tries to trigger me, to become a better player. I am very grateful for that. I am not surprised about my performance. I know what I am capable of. “At the moment I am a PSV player and the focus is on the national team. We’ll see what will happen. In football it can go crazy, but as it is now, I will still play at PSV after the World Cup,” Gakpo added.

After their disappointing 1-1 draw with Ecuador, the Dutch would not be underestimating already-eliminated hosts Qatar in their last group game on Tuesday, team mate Daley Blind said. “There were plenty of things that could be done better. It wasn’t our best game. We have to do a lot better to achieve better results,” he said.

But Blind said a lot of fancied teams were struggling at the World Cup. “There have been some interesting results. I think a lot of teams are closing the gap,” Blind added.

“Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that the preparation was shorter than usual. Usually you have more time to prepare. “But we are not looking for excuses, we have been critical of ourselves and now focused on the next game against Qatar. We’ll have to be much better.” (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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