How Cody Gakpo will fit in at Liverpool

Liverpool’s January shopping looks to be well and truly underway.

Having celebrated Christmas with a 3-1 win at Aston Villa, there was more good news for Reds fans as it emerged that they had agreed a deal with PSV Eindhoven to sign the Dutch international forward Cody Gakpo.

The formalities are still to be finalised, but Gakpo is heading for Merseyside for a medical and it is expected that the transfer will be completed by the time the transfer window officially opens on January 1. The deal is expected to cost an initial £37 million (€42m/$45m), rising to around £44m (€50m/$53m) when add-ons are factored in.

The coup comes as a blow for Manchester United, who had been leading the race to sign the 23-year-old, but a significant boost for Jurgen Klopp, who has been seeking reinforcements following injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.

Gakpo had initially been a target for the summer, but Liverpool moved swiftly to land the versatile forward, once it became clear PSV were open to selling in January.

Here, GOAL looks at where he could fit in at Anfield…

Straight down the middle

Gakpo’s main strengths are obvious; he scores goals and he creates them. And that makes him an obvious candidate to play as a centre-forward.

His record for PSV this season has been little short of spectacular, with 12 goals and 14 assists in 19 Eredivisie and Europa League games, and his form continued at the World Cup in Qatar, where he scored three times to help the Netherlands reach the quarter-finals.

He isn’t a classic No.9 by any stretch of the imagination, but that could suit Liverpool, who are used to playing with Roberto Firmino, the archetypal ‘False Nine’.

Gakpo is not Firmino, but he certainly has the ability to drift into deeper areas and link play, something which would obviously benefit the likes of Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez, players who start wide but have a knack of finding themselves in scoring positions centrally.

Potential line-up (4-3-3): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Salah, Gakpo, Nunez.

Off the left wing

The bulk of Gakpo’s career at PSV has been spent as a wide player, and it is easy to see how he could make a difference to Liverpool off the left, certainly in the short term as Diaz recovers from his knee injury.

He isn’t lightning quick, but he certainly isn’t slow, and his desire to drift infield onto his right foot would suit Andy Robertson, who loves to get forward from left back.

Gakpo’s positional play has come on significantly in the last 12 months. He has worked with a personal tactics coach, Loran Vrielink, to improve his awareness and off-the-ball skills, and his physicality means he should be able to handle the rigours of the Premier League, and of Liverpool’s high-intensity pressing game. His goal threat, meanwhile, would make him a far more natural option as part of a front three than, say, Fabio Carvalho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Curtis Jones.

Potential line-up (4-3-3): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo

As a No.10

How about a change of system, perhaps? Liverpool have experimented with a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 formation at times this season, and with doubts about the structure and solidity of their midfield, it would not be a huge surprise to see them do so again once Gakpo is in the building.

He certainly looked comfortable as a No.10 for the Netherlands at the World Cup, especially when playing off Memphis Depay, and his ability to find a telling final ball, either a pass or a shot, would give Klopp an extra dimension if he chose to go with a four-forward system.

It is not hard to imagine Gakpo playing behind Nunez or Salah, or even Firmino, in games Liverpool would expect to dominate.

Potential line-up (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Thiago, Fabinho, Salah, Gakpo, Nunez, Firmino

What about the long term?

Looking a little further into the future, it will be intriguing to see how Klopp juggles his attacking riches.

Gakpo’s signing surely casts doubt over Firmino’s future. The Brazilian is out of contract in the summer, and though an extension cannot be ruled out, it feels unlikely that Liverpool would carry six top-level, senior forwards in their squad. For the same reason, it is almost certain that Oxlade-Chamberlain will be allowed to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Klopp will hope he has all bases covered. The relentless brilliance and consistency of Salah, Diaz’s directness and energy, the pressing and penalty-box prowess of Jota, Nunez’s presence, unpredictability and ability to run in behind, and now Gakpo’s creativity and goalscoring. Beyond that, the potential of Fabio Carvalho, 20, and teenagers Kaide Gordon and Ben Doak, is vast.

All in all, exciting times for Liverpool. Now to sort that midfield out…