Is Gakpo The New Firmino? – 6 Games, No Goals

The Dutchman, Cody Gakpo joined a side lacking in confidence and has only partially lived up to the £37 million price tag the Reds spent to get him.

One victory and three losses in six games with 0 goals. Cody Gakpo has had a challenging beginning to life at Liverpool, it is fair to say.

The Dutchman, who was signed from PSV in January for an initial fee of £37 million ($45 million), has joined a team whose confidence is at an all-time low and whose decline seems to get steeper and more remarkable with each passing week.

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In contrast, other players in the past, such as Luis Diaz or Diogo Jota, have been able to come in and immediately add something to a team in form.

Last weekend’s thrashing at Wolves marked a new low, in that regard. It left the Reds languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, out of both domestic cups and on a run of only one win in seven games in all competitions. A club in crisis? It certainly feels that way, even if Jurgen Klopp would no doubt disagree.

At Anfield right now, very little is operating as it should. Liverpool’s defense is shaky, and its midfield is obviously unsuited to the job. You can tell that by the presence of Naby Keita, a player whose contract is about to expire, and youngster Stefan Bajcetic, both of whom are 18 years old.

The decline in Liverpool’s offensive output, however, has been perhaps the most concerning. If you exclude the bizarre 9-0 victory over Bournemouth in August, they have only scored 25 goals in 20 league games this season, which is more than Aston Villa and fewer than a Leeds team plagued by relegation worries.

Injury has undoubtedly not helped. Jota has only made eight appearances, Diaz has only made twelve, while Roberto Firmino hasn’t participated in a competitive game since November because of a calf injury. Six games have also been missed by Darwin Nunez, albeit only three of those were due to suspension.

So, the only consistent attacker has been Mohamed Salah, and even the Egyptian has battled to uphold his own extraordinarily high standards. He leads the team in scoring with 17 goals across all competitions, but he has only scored three times in his previous 11 games and has recently appeared more and more depleted due to the craziness going on around him.

Therefore, one feels bad for Gakpo, who was dropped into a starting lineup that is always shifting and a group of players that neither has confidence in themselves nor inspires fear in their rivals. However, it’s not Liverpool as we know it.

“A difficult situation,” was how Gakpo described it this week, with neat understatement.

The 23-year-old has started each of his side’s last half dozen matches, and hopes to retain his place for Monday’s Merseyside derby with Everton at Anfield. How he would love to get himself off the mark for his new club in such a significant fixture, too.

Despite his goalless start, Klopp has been eager to compliment the newcomer. At the end of the previous month, the Reds manager declared, “I am fully happy.” He believed that Gakpo was a “excellent” finisher whose effort and defensive contribution were “amazing.” He further stated that it was “not cool” to criticize him after just a few games.

He’s correct, of course, and there have definitely been hints as to why Klopp and departing sporting director Julian Ward were so eager to bring Gakpo to Merseyside and why staff members think he can contribute significantly to the team in the years to come.

But generally speaking, Liverpool’s attacking signings have had a quick impact. After scoring on their debuts, Salah and Sadio Mane never looked back. Nunez sprang right into the action, Jota scored in his debut game at Anfield, and a year ago, a young, upbeat Diaz joined a club that was in the hunt for everything.

Gakpo is unique. To begin with, he appears to be a different kind of player. He is more about touch and movement than he is about speed and dynamism. Even though he believes his best position right now is out wide, he appears to be more of a Firmino replacement than a Salah, Mane, or Diaz.

“At the moment for me, I like to play on the left wing because I played there for four years so that is what I am used to,” he told Walk On, Liverpool’s official e-magazine. “But maybe I will develop better in another position and then play there.

“I played in the middle in the FA Cup at Wolves and against Chelsea. I like it. It’s more in the centre of the goal. I’m not that used to it so I have to develop in that position. 

“I don’t know if I will end up there, but [former Netherlands manager] Louis van Gaal told me I will end up in the middle so maybe I will.”

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THEEAGLE understands that one of Liverpool’s initial motivations for pursuing Gakpo was his versatility, but considering both his style of play and the Reds’ available offensive alternatives, it appears that a central position will work best for him moving forward.

He has always been a goal scorer and opportunity maker, but with PSV he made significant improvements in his awareness and off-the-ball work, even hiring a personal tactics coach to help him with positional play and game comprehension.

Lately, the cavalry is approaching Liverpool. Jota and Firmino should resume full training this week, according to Klopp, while Diaz should return to play in March. The Reds have an arsenal that looks as rich and as varied as any in the game, assuming they can get all of their forwards healthy, which is a big if.

However, in the near future, they’d really like Gakpo to rediscover his shooting form and some of the inventive goal-scoring ability he displayed at PSV. And what better place to do it than on Monday night at Anfield, right?