Cody Gakpo Finds a Home

Cody Gakpo has been homeless since joining Liverpool, but things have changed under Arne Slot.

So whenever Liverpool sign a new player, I always ask myself the same question. Why are the Reds signing this guy? That always tends to be my first thought.

You don’t just buy a player because he’s good. You buy him because — in addition to being good — he addresses a need within your squad. Federico Chiesa, for example, has obviously been acquired to act as a backup option for Mohamed Salah on the right flank.

When Liverpool signed Ibrahima Konaté, Jürgen Klopp needed a right-sided centre-back, sure, but ideally one who could defend without much support by managing wide open spaces alone, given the nature of Trent Alexander-Arnold as the team’s right-back.

How about Thiago Alcântara, then? When he joined, Pep Lijnders described him as a ‘solution’ for the Reds, having previously stated: “Every opponent makes the middle closed for us, so the space is on the sides, openings must come from there. Trent and Robbo literally give us wings. But the rotten thing is that teams are already trying to stop that. It’s up to us to remain unpredictable.”

If your recruitment is any good, there is always a tactical reason behind the arrival of a new player. Unless you’re Chelsea, of course.

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That brings us to the topic of this week’s Friday newsletter. Cody Gakpo has been looking good under Arne Slot of late, but before we assess his case to determine the factors behind his upturn in form, we need to rewind the clock to weigh up why Liverpool bought him in the first place.

Let me take you back to the January transfer window of 2023. Gakpo joined as soon as the market opened, with Liverpool having already agreed a deal with PSV Eindhoven over the Christmas period.

It was no surprise to see Klopp so eager to strengthen. By the time Gakpo made his debut, Liverpool placed as low as sixth in the Premier League table, level on points with Fulham. They were 13 points from the relegation zone, and 16 points from the top of the table.

Now, this is guesswork on my part, but — having thought about this a lot — I think Klopp and Lijnders identified a distinct lack of Roberto Firmino as the most influential factor behind Liverpool’s struggles, particularly against the ball.

The famous false nine was no longer featuring as much, mainly due to age and injuries. His contract was due to expire at the end of that campaign, and his replacement, Darwin Núñez, was a completely different profile of forward, preferring to run away from the ball as opposed to dropping into deeper areas to collect it.

With Firmino in the side, Liverpool had a midfield three and a deep-lying striker protecting the centre. With Núñez, however, the trio were left alone, and don’t forget, those midfielders were all over the hill at the time.

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Meanwhile, Gakpo was shining in his homeland. He seemed to be making The Leap for PSV, having amassed nine goals and 12 assists in just 14 Eredivisie starts. The season before, he posted 12 goals and 12 assists. This was a player who — aged 23 — suddenly seemed too good to continue playing in the Netherlands.

I firmly believe Klopp and Lijnders viewed Gakpo as a potential Firmino heir. The South American is almost impossible to clone. You won’t find another version of him, but Gakpo had some tools to suggest his future was through the middle as opposed to the wide areas.

So Liverpool bought a promising left-sided forward, but one who could only really make sense as a signing if he was remoulded, given Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota already took turns on the left for Liverpool.

Gakpo started up front in his debut against Brighton and Hove Albion, but Klopp’s outfit still Liverpool lost by three goals to nil. He starts again, and again, and again. And by the end of the season — despite joining in January — Gakpo had 17 starts to his name in the Premier League, with Núñez on 19.

But the whole thing kinda didn’t work. Liverpool ended up finishing fifth, and the way in which they managed to reignite their season was by encouraging Alexander-Arnold to be that fourth central body from right-back.

Once the Scouse defender thrived and the Reds started to experience a degree of consistency once again, Gakpo was almost rendered a bit useless. You bought him to restore that four-player Firmino dynamic, but two months later, realised Alexander-Arnold could do it, albeit from a different position.