Liverpool’s new, £50m recruit Cody Gakpo was handed his debut by Jurgen Klopp against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their FA Cup third round clash. As much as the excitement was there to watch the winger, who had amassed 13 goals and 17 assists in just 24 appearances for PSV this season, in action for Liverpool, it all drained down after a tame display from the winger.
Liverpool were lucky enough to escape with a 2-2 draw, thanks to another VAR blunder, and will now play the replay at the Molineux on 18 January. However, Gakpo has reportedly lost his chance to impress on debut, and make his case for being named in the starting eleven against Brighton on Saturday to make his Premier League debut.
Klopp expected to go with regular options ahead of Cody Gakpo
There still is much hype around Cody Gakpo, for whom the Reds paid a fixed fee of £37m to PSV, and have agreed another £13m in add-ons. The winger ended 2022 with a staggering 18 goals and 18 assists in just 34 games for club and country. Moreover, he capped it off by powering the Netherlands to the quarterfinals at the FIFA World Cup with 3 goals in 5 games.
Although the Oranje disappointingly exited at the quarterfinal stage, losing to eventual champions Argentina in a high octane 120 minutes plus the penalties, a move to Liverpool awaited Gakpo. Although he was expected to join their arch rivals Manchester United, who were in constant contact with his agents, Liverpool moved in swiftly to do a ‘Luis Diaz’, and snatch the winger away from the clutches of Ten Hag’s United.
The Reds are now expecting Cody Gakpo to do a Luis Diaz, as the Colombian’s signing in January last year proved to be crucial for their season. Again, Diaz was enroute to Tottenham, before Liverpool came in and hijacked the deal. He went on to score 6 goals and provide 5 assists in 26 games and led Liverpool to a cup double of FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and also played in the Champions League final.
However, his long term knee injury has kept him sidelined since October last year, and is only expected to return to action by March. As a result, Liverpool have this time brought in Gakpo, who plays in that left-wing position of Diaz, to turnaround their waning season. But the 23-year-old has had a ‘sloppy’ start to his spell at Merseyside, as he admit after the Wolves game:
“For my own game, I think I showed some good moments and some sloppy moments. So, I can also still improve on those points and keep working and try to help the team as much as I can. Of course, you learn the most when you’re playing games, so I’m looking forward [to more].”
With Liverpool already sitting sixth in the league, out of Champions League places, Klopp is reportedly not ready to risk the game against Brighton to go down the Wolves way. The Reds’ boss is expected to make a tough call and bench Cody Gakpo at weekend, going for his regular option Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had replaced the Netherlands’ international at the 85th minute against Wolves.
Liverpool cannot afford another sloppy result, which could then realistically end their hopes of finishing in the top four. It is now evident that Gakpo is now Diaz and that he needs time to adapt. Klopp too admit it after the Wolves game, and could hence take the difficult decision of benching his £50m signing against the Seagulls, who have already gunned down the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton under De Zerbi, and even had earned a 3-3 draw against Liverpool in their own backyard, Anfield.