Twan Scheepers’ reaction is one of surprise. “Why?” he asks.
This is where you can see the paternal instincts and leadership qualities of a youth-team coach.
Scheepers is no longer a youth-team coach and when he speaks to The Athletic from the Netherlands, he has just finished preparing for Utrecht’s next league match — the trip to PSV Eindhoven last weekend. He is the assistant manager of Utrecht in Dutch Eredivisie. The match will pit his club against Cody Gakpo, the Dutch player making the most waves.
For Scheepers’ sake, a quiet afternoon for Gakpo would be nice, no? What is better than a Gakpo masterclass Scheepers is baffled.
“No, no,” he says. “I enjoy seeing Cody when he’s at his best. The players I worked with, I don’t want them to play badly. It’s not like that. We all go out to achieve a goal, and we do so because we want it. On Sunday, you could even say that we are the enemy! But no, I can’t ever look for him to have a bad game.”
Gakpo has a promise. Scheepers will be working full-time.
“No one else, whatever the result,” Scheepers jokes. “I have a deal with him.”
Gakpo’s shirts are worth a bit these days and their value is increasing exponentially. European football is taking notice of the winger. Many clubs are thinking about him in the lead up to the opening of the new transfer window at New Year. He was hot property back in August. Now he is even hotter, enhancing his profile and making everyone jealous.
Manchester UnitedGakpo was on the list of possible options during the summer
