Cody Gakpo yesterday scored his third goal at the World Cup in the Netherlands’ 2-0 victory over Ecuador.
The PSV Eindhoven forward was on target for Louis van Gaal’s side to ensure they finished top of their group.
Before a ball was kicked in Qatar, Gakpo was a player that many people were going to look out for at the tournament.
He has enjoyed an outstanding season so far over in his homeland, scoring 13 goals and making 17 assists in just 24 games.
Those are some phenomenal numbers from the 23-year-old.
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And his goal against Qatar today was very well taken.
The star found space on the edge of the box after a well worked Dutch move and, stretching slightly, executed a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
It was more evidence that Gakpo is one of the game’s top youngsters at the moment, and he is surely set for a big-money move soon.
And some people at Wolves might be watching on with a tinge of regret.
Dutch publication Eindhovens Dagblad did actually report in the summer that Wolves were one of a few teams to be monitoring his progress.
Leeds United, Southampton and Manchester United were all mentioned, too.
The Red Devils, perhaps inevitably, have become more heavily linked with the player as the season has gone on.
Wolves have well and truly missed the boat with Cody Gakpo, who is the World Cup’s breakout star
It is unclear how close, if at all, Wolves came to signing Gakpo in the summer.
But the youngster stayed put at PSV and is enjoying an absolutely superb season.
And now he’s shining at the World Cup, which is the ultimate shop window. Currently, he is the joint-top scorer in the competition on three goals alongside Kylian Mbappe and Enner Valencia and therefore competing for the Golden Boot.
There is absolutely no doubt that he will be making a massive move to a club competing in Europe at some point in the near future.
And Wolves officials will have to watch from afar, wondering what might have been.