Cody Gakpo continues to feel at home in Liverpool and has revealed Jurgen Klopp’s words that helped motivate him when he joined last January.
Jurgen Klopp rarely misses getting the best out of a significant transfer. There are instances that some of Liverpool’s big-money signings have failed to make a mark, but that has been mainly due to injuries rather than form. The latest star on the block is Cody Gakpo.
In the case of bringing in attacking players, Klopp rarely has got it wrong, including Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and the likes. Over the last year, Liverpool have gone about further revamping their forward line with the signings of Darwin Nunez last summer and Cody Gakpo in January.
Gakpo, in particular, has caught the eye of the supporters owing to his versatility in the attacking positions. At times, he has also started as a part of the midfield three, which is quite surprising given his attributes to play mostly forward.
At Liverpool, he is already tasked with three different roles, including sometimes playing centre-forward. He already has 11 goals for the club since signing last January, and there is an expectation that he will succeed here in the mould of their former Brazilian star Firmino.
Speaking to Voetbal Primeur, Gakpo discussed many things and revealed Klopp’s words that apparently motivated him when he joined. He said,“It was an exciting year in which I made a beautiful journey. And still. I feel very much at home in Liverpool. Football is going well; we live nicely.”
“My girlfriend is happy, and my family and friends are also experiencing everything. Then you are blessed. He (Klopp) immediately said in January: ‘Cody can play good pressing, he can do as a striker what Roberto Firmino did for us for years.’ I am challenged to get out of my comfort zone. I like that.”
Gakpo is already enjoying his new position at Liverpool, which is very different from how things were back at PSV Eindhoven. In the Eredivisie, he played more on the wings. But with Klopp’s ideas of viewing him as a successor to Firmino, things are about to change more.
Evolving in the Firmino role is not an easy task. The Brazilian’s primary job focused on stitching the attack together rather than being a prolific force ahead of the goal. The Liverpool legend had his share of critical strikes. But more importantly, he was seen as an orchestrator rather than a scorer.
Gakpo has many of Firmino’s attributes to succeed, and he has not disappointed so far. As for Liverpool, they would want their Dutch star to keep performing at the highest levels, and many believe he has plenty more to show on the road to success.
