Klopp Reveals When Gakpo Will Make Liverpool Debut

Cody Gakpo was recently signed by Liverpool, and manager Jurgen Klopp praised him and revealed when he would make his debut for the Reds.

Klopp revealed that Gakpo – who signed from PSV on Boxing Day and was in attendance for their match against Leicester last week – had impressed him in training.

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However, he underlined that the 23-year-old could take some time to adapt to life in England, unlike Colombian team-mate Luis Diaz, who joined Liverpool this time last year and made an instant impact on Merseyside.

“Cody has been in for two training days and it’s a joy to watch, to be honest,” Klopp lauded to reporters.

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He added: “In our situation with injuries to the strikers it’s really nice to have a guy on the pitch who obviously is pretty natural in lots of things, the offensive part of the game and he knows where the goal stands, that’s very helpful. He’s obviously full of joy and enjoying each second in the moment, so it’s very good.

“I’m very positive about him but I’m not sure it’s helpful if you’re comparing him. Lucho [Luis Diaz]’s impact was really special, to be honest. Cody gets the same amount of time as each player.

“He has to settle in and offensively it’s not that easy and he’s come from a different league so that’s always difficult. It was for Lucho as well, but we don’t have to compare them. We expect a positive impact, definitely.”

Gakpo is expected to make his Liverpool debut in the FA Cup match against Wolves on Saturday, according to Klopp, who also disclosed that captain Virgil van Dijk might miss up to a month of action with a hamstring injury.

“Yes, he is in contention,” the German stated. “He will be involved in the squad, of course. How exactly we will have to decide in the next few hours, but that’s fine. First impressions of him are brilliant. With all these things, injured strikers and stuff like this, then you see a guy who is obviously a natural footballer on the pitch and knows where the goal is, it is a lift for everybody. So, that’s cool and somehow he will be involved, definitely.”

The Dutchman will aim to play in Liverpool’s forthcoming Premier League matches against top-half sides Brighton and Chelsea on January 14 and 21, respectively, after logging significant minutes against Wolves.