Go back even to his previous seasons you can see a clear progression in him game play he’s more direct and more forceful in his creativity.
The reason he’s outperformed his xG is because believe it or not he’s an outstanding striker of the ball. He’s a very good finisher with a wide variety of finishes he’s not a hit it and hope player.
He is very creative but not only from corners and free kicks which you note are excellent rather than just looking at his stats I’d suggest watching him in Eredivise and see how often he puts perfect crosses into very dangerous areas.
I’ve said before I’d expect his output to drop if he moves but he has all the skills needed to be a deadly goalscoring and creating wide forward or has the potential to convert into a false 9 striker too.
He’s a lot better a player than many here give credit too because you have to watch him over a prolonged period to seriously assess him.
I agree that he is a good finisher. But currently he had 7 goals from open play on an npxg of 3,8. 84 % higher than expectation.
The past six season Messi had 124 goals from open play in the league. On an npxg 95,6. That is equal to 30 percent higher than expectation. Lewandowskis ratio is 147 to 141,2. An overperformance of 4 %.
In other words, Gakpo’s numbers, over the past 11 games are likely to regress, when he play more games. Alot.
Consequently, it is interesting to note that his npxg this season is 0,40 (down from 0,42). Malen had an npxg of 0,64, 0,58 and 0,63 at PSV. Bergwijn, prior to his move to Spurs, had an npxg of 0,43 in his last full season for PSV.
What sets Gakpo apart is the creative part of his game. His assists numbers is great (and it is also reflected in his xa). Mostly a reflection of him being a great crosser as you say. But it is worth noting than much of it comes from corners and free kicks. A part of the game he is unlikely to be able to take with him (will he be prefered to Eriksen on corners and free kicks?). If you look at shots and goals created from open play, Bergwijn at PSV actually did better at PSV than Gakpo.
I like Gakpo and I think he will have a more successfull carrier than both Malen and Bergwijn. But I also think he will have to be much better than both to make sense for Man Utd. I’m really not sure that is the case.