Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Boxing Day, but despite Jurgen Klopp’s Reds winning their first Premier League game in over a month due to the World Cup in Qatar, it wasn’t the most important story…
With fans eating Christmas leftovers, word broke that Liverpool were about to sign PSV star Cody Gakpo.
Within the next hour, it was almost official, with PSV confirming that the 23-year-old had flown to Merseyside for his medical and signing a contract. He should be ready to join his new teammates on January 1, just like fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk was in 2018.
There are so many rumors and speculation about who Liverpool want to sign, but often, the deals are made public and announced that very day, proving that the ITK Twitter brigade knows a lot less than they let on! Last January, Luis Díaz was linked in the morning and confirmed by the club in the afternoon, and his signing had a monumental impact on our brilliant run that almost culminated in a four-fold. Gakpo won’t be fighting for all four this term, but his arrival will boost our top four chances and hopefully our Champions League efforts as well.
Even Liverpool journalists like James Pearce, Neil Jones etc only found out about the Gakpo deal when everyone else did. David Ornstein is the man right now when it comes to legitimate transfer news, or football news of any kind, for that matter. Most of the information you get from reporters supposedly close to the club is just a thinly disguised summary or op-ed. Liverpool are very careful not to reveal any transfer stories to English journalists until after a deal has already been made. So in many ways the best people to pay attention to when it comes to transfer news are journalists from other countries, who have contacts at the selling clubs and with the potential transfer, as Liverpool reveal less than any.
Cody Gakpo’s position
Liverpool already has Díaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Núñez and Fabio Carvalho; all comfortable on the left of the 4-3-3, so we need to massively qualify Gakpo to get him into a congested area.
That said, Gakpo played on the left for PSV, but on the right or 10 in the Netherlands, where he scored three goals and starred in Qatar. His versatility will be very beneficial in the long run, but right now, he is likely to occupy his favorite spot on the left flank. Diaz will be out of it until the end of March and Jota will not play in January, meaning Gakpo has a chance to step into the role effectively before his new teammates return from injury.
We experimented with a 4-4-2 early in the campaign, but Klopp quickly reverted to his tried and trusted 4-3-3 form, so now that every PL match is almost a must-win, it would be safe to assume that the Gakpo’s initial role will be familiar.
Cody Gakpo Attributes
First things first, Gakpo is a physical specimen. He’s 6 foot 4 and fast. With the summer signing of Darwin Núñez, it’s clear that Liverpool are aiming for attackers with incredible height, speed and power, and now they have another.
This season with PSV he already has 16 goals and 17 assists. There are 33 G/A shares. crazy numbers. Many of his goals come from cutting down the left flank and finishing the ball off with his right foot. He shoots with immense power. Even the side feet of him are lightning bolts. While Nunez’s finishing lacks composure when he has too much time at the moment, Gakpo shoots calmly and accurately. Seeing those two and Mo Salah up top would be very interesting for us and terrifying for opposition defenders.
Stylistically, and it’s certainly a pretty dangerous comparison, Gakpo plays a bit like Cristiano Ronaldo before he lost his legs. He is very upright, strong and direct, with quick feet and the ability to shoot with precision and power from anywhere around the 18-yard line. However, his number of assists shows that he may not be as motivated to score as the former star. of Manchester United.
Gakpo is not only right-handed. In the World Cup he scored with his right, left and head. While Diaz, for example, will always cut and shoot on the right, Gakpo has more options.
The featured pack below, showcasing his goals and assists, is delicious.
???? ????????????????????: Cody Gakpo
Nationality – ????????Age – 23Position – LMGols – 16Assists – 17Club – Liverpool
????Comp by @MrBoywunder????pic.twitter.com/AiPILLn0kH
– LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) December 27, 2022
Whats Next…?
Well, we still need a midfielder, right?
Gakpo means we now have six top strikers for three positions – excellent squad depth.
But with Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain likely leaving in the summer when their contracts expire, a midfielder was probably more of a priority than an attacking first.
The word online is that Liverpool could move for Enzo Fernandez next.
Portuguese reporter Pedro Almeida claims that Liverpool and Manchester United are going head-to-head for the Argentine, who shone in Qatar on the biggest stage.
???? Manchester United and Liverpool reach €120M that Benfica wants to sell to Enzo #Fernandez. ????????⌛️ #MUFC #Liverpool https://t.co/JUmxIysURm
— Pedro Almeida (@pedrogva6) December 27,
Liverpool will be betting big on Jude Bellingham in the summer, but can we really afford to pay €120m for a midfielder in January, and even more for the Englishman six months from now, while the FSG tries to sell the club? ?
It seems a bit unlikely, but there hasn’t been a proper investment in the team for some time, so maybe they’re going all out, like they did in the summer of 2018 when we signed Alisson and Fabinho after losing the final of the Champions League.
Fernandez is the real deal. He would be a much more exciting acquisition than Sofyan Amrabat, however.
And if we’re going to wait until the summer of 2023 for Bellingham, we need a new midfielder in January.
Let’s see what happens, but Gakpo’s early deal indicates serious intent from Liverpool and an understanding that the current team needs to be reinvigorated.
It’s going to be a fun winter!
