Late last night, it was revealed that Liverpool were in advanced negotiations to sign PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo. 

Within just over an hour of the news breaking, the Eredivisie club had announced that they had agreed a deal to sell the 23-year-old to Jurgen Klopp's side for a fee believed to be an initial £37 million with the potential to rise to up to £50 million.

So, who is Cody Gakpo and what will he bring to Anfield? 

  • Has he outgrown Dutch football?

Capped 14 times for The Netherlands, Gakpo scored in all three group stage matches at the World Cup in Qatar. 

Whilst impressive, his performances were not exactly surprising considering he is the only player in Europe's top 10 leagues to score 20+ goals and assist 20+ times since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.

Jurgen Klopp will be impressed by his directness and effectiveness in front of goal.

He is currently the top goalscorer in the Dutch top-flight, with nine goals and has scored three in the Europa League.

However, he is not limited to scoring goals, with 12 assists in the league and five in other competitions, a total of 17. 

His creative numbers also make for very interesting reading, he has the most key passes in the Eredivisie (59), the most shot creating actions per 90 (7.94) and the second most crosses into the box (16). 

  • What kind of player is he?

At 6'3, Gakpo is tall, strong on the ball, but he is also athletic, a very good dribbler, with good movement off-the-ball and speed in transition. 

Primarily a left winger, he likes to drift into the centre of the pitch and operate in the 'second striker' role, shooting and creating from distance or combining with teammates to create chances nearer to the goal.

In an interview with The Times in October, he described how he has been trying to play like former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. 

“I’m a tall winger, but when you look for tall wingers there aren’t so many, so a few years ago I started watching Henry.

“He was more of a striker, but he was also tall and he liked to play off the side like me, so I watched clips of him and tried to learn something from him: the way he comes in from the left and shoots with his right.

“I don’t know if it’s working, but I tried to copy him a bit."

An aspect on his game that needs work is his ability to receive the ball under pressure and his dribbling in small spaces and he is often wasteful in possession in high-level matches. 

However, if anyone is able to iron out these imperfections on the training pitch, it is Klopp. 

Where does he fit at Liverpool?

The Athletic's Caoimhe O'Neill suggests that the club believe that he can play across the front three, however there is limited evidence to go off for this conclusion. 

Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin Van Persie agrees with this assessment.

"He is not really an out-and-out striker. He can play as a No.10, he can play on the wing, or as a false striker, he can play in those four positions in front,” he told BT Sport. 

"He has a good physique, he is strong, fast, he can dribble. He is an all-round player,” Van Persie added.

Whilst Gakpo was playing as a centre forward in PSV's academy when the Reds first scouted him in 2014, despite his height, he has played just 18 times at centre forward at senior level, and does not excel with his back to goal, preferring to face the goal when in possession of the ball. 
 

His international teammate Memphis Depay revealed that he prefers to play with Steven Bergwijn as a result of this limitation.

 

”I have a fine connection with Cody Gakpo. But I do think that I prefer to play with Steven Bergwijn [up front]. He holds the ball better and by doing so, Cody Gakpo can get behind him,” he told De Telegraaf during the World Cup.

A move to the right as back-up for Mohamed Salah is unlikely given the fact that in his 16,000 minutes of senior football, he has only featured there for 1,200 of them and not very spectacularly. 

His preference to drift centrally will provide an interesting tactical aspect for Klopp's side, with Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota's tendencies to drift wide to the left wing.

It also provides Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Reds’ creative outlet with a new threat, a switch to the left or centre where Gakpo can go alone or unleash one of his fellow forwards.

The Dutch international will take time to adapt to Premier League football, and questions remain about whether he can translate his attacking output to a higher quality league. 

 

His adaptation will likely be helped by his compatriot and captain at international level Virgil Van Dijk, who reportedly spoke to Gakpo about the club when the official bid was submitted.

The centre-back had hinted at January additions after the win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day when he said "hopefully we can welcome some new players at our football club. I think quality is always welcome at Liverpool."

Klopp will likely ease the winger into his team, as we have seen with the likes of Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Nunez. 

However, he could be thrown in at the deep-end, with injuries to Luis Diaz and Jota limiting the Reds' attacking options at the moment, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain starting on the left in the 3-1 victory over Aston Villa. 

  • The Verdict

The addition of Gakpo perplexed some fans, as quality attackers is not something that the Reds lack. 

However, with Diaz and Jota out and the future of Roberto Firmino still unresolved, the move makes sense. 

Signing one of the most promising, coveted youngsters in world football should bring huge excitement and more importantly, confirms that Liverpool can attract the biggest names ahead of bidding wars for Jude Bellingham and Enzo Fernandez. 

If Liverpool are to make the top four or even an unlikely title charge, Gakpo could be the difference maker.