Cody Gakpo completed his £50 million move to Liverpool last week, and the winger is now ready to make his debut for the Reds. He was at the Anfield to watch his new side get lucky with a win against Leicester City as there is much hype now around him getting into action at the same arena. Moreover, Gakpo’s former PSV youth coach Twan Scheepers has now tipped the talented youngster to emulate the exploits of his idol Thierry Henry at Liverpool.
Gakpo, who idolizes the Arsenal legend arrives at Liverpool with a lot of expectations on his back. The Reds have paid £37 million fixed fee for his acquisition and have agreed to pay another £13 million in add-ons. However, its not just the £50 million package which seems hefty, but also the task which the winger has been posed with. Cody Gakpo is being looked upon to turnaround Liverpool’s ailing season, and Scheepers believes his former player will just do the same.
Cody Gakpo to only get ‘more exciting’ for Liverpool says Scheepers
Cody Gakpo had a 2022 to remember on personal terms apart from his transfer to Liverpool. He netted a stunning 18 goals and provided 18 assists in 34 appearances for club and country in 2022, and capped if off with brilliant displays at the World Cup. Gakpo turned into a beast mode for the Netherlands in Qatar, netting 3 goals in 5 games in their run till the quarterfinals. Right-foot, left-foot, header; the 23-year-old used all the armoury to get his three goals.
Scheepers, who coached the winger all the way enroute to his journey from PSV’s academy to the first-team has further lavished praise on him and explained what to expect from him at Liverpool. The PSV coach has also likened his former player’s style to that of Henry, whose trademark weapon was cutting in from left and unleashing a thunderbolt off the right foot. Scheepers said:
“He [Cody Gakpo] was exceptional in many ways but not only in his attributes or skills. Everybody around him, he took them with him. He didn’t change when going to the first team. All day long he would be in conversation with you on how he could reach his goals. When he was under ten he would do the same right now at Liverpool.
“When he gets the ball you are always on the tip of your chair. There is always something happening when he is on or around the ball and it is always forward. He is an exciting player who will only get even more exciting. He can adapt to be a striker but I don’t see him as one. In general his best position is the left side.
“I am not saying he is Thierry Henry because you cannot compare players but the way they think, the way they play with always running towards the goal and clever in the 18 yard box I can see why he is a huge fan of him.
“When you have a stable family who support each other in a healthy way and only bring joy to your child it helps enormously. That is why Cody is still the same guy as when he was a youngster at 10 years old. It has to do with the parents, his brothers and they did a good job to give him direction.”
Cody Gakpo will certainly look to lighten up the Premier League the same way he did with the Eredivisie, where he amassed 36 goals and 39 assists in just 105 appearances across his four-and-a-half seasons there. Moreover, his signing is a double reinforcement for Liverpool who have lost wingers Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota to long term injuries, and are reeling in the sixth place in the Premier League, 15 points adrift of the summit and 4 behind fourth placed Manchester United.