Cody Gakpo has shown his versatility in pre-season for Liverpool, and in return may have solved a potential Jürgen Klopp headache with a ‘new role’ over the
summer.
Jürgen Klopp’s direction. At the time, despite the Netherlands international excelling at the World Cup, he was viewed as a bit of a luxury addition to the squad.
But six months later, Gakpo has rubbished all those doubts and made it clear just why Liverpool brought him to Anfield at the time, making sure no rival club got to
his signature first.
Not only has Gakpo seamlessly replaced the now departed Roberto Firmino, having shown just how effective and eerily similar he can be in the Brazilian’s number
nine role, but he has also given Liverpool’s attack a new dimension.
It is no secret Klopp likes to have versatile players in the squad, and Gakpo gives him a lot of tactical flexibility. As well as playing that false number nine role to
perfection, Gakpo can also slot into the right or the left wing and is even capable of playing behind the striker, having played in all of those roles for PSV and the
Dutch team.
That versatility has been further stretched this summer in the absence of further midfield additions at Liverpool.
Gakpo has shown in pre-season that he isn’t just capable of playing in Liverpool’s front three, he can also play deeper in the Reds’ midfield three.
His most notable performance undoubtedly came in the last game of the season. With Curtis Jones suffering a bit of a knock that prevented him from starting
against Darmstadt, it was Alexis Mac Allister who was pulled into the number six position, while Gakpo was pulled back to play in the number eight role.
When he joined in January, few would have thought Gakpo would end up becoming a useful midfielder for Liverpool, but against Darmstadt he put up a pretty good
case.
A constant runner with bags of energy, Gakpo was superb in the role, and probably put in as impressive a midfield performance as we have seen all summer from
any of the club’s current options.
As per Wyscout, against Darmstadt, Gakpo completed 38 out of 47 passes, making one key pass and 14 forward passes. Crucially, he also made four progressive runs
and completed two out of his three dribble attempts, which was the most out of Liverpool’s starting midfielders.
He contributed a lot defensively as well, tracking back and competing in seven defensive duels, making four recoveries and three tactical fouls to disrupt the
opposition’s rhythm.
Both offensively and defensively, Gakpo showed his value in that position and did not look out of place at all.
Given Klopp is in need of midfielders at Liverpool, the Dutchman with that performance may have just eased the Liverpool boss’ headache. Gakpo undoubtedly can
be used even as part of a midfield three in the future, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Klopp were to play him there against Chelsea this weekend either.
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