Louis van Gaal admits he had to fight to change Cody Gakpo’s position for this World Cup. It’s a change Liverpool will love.
What a World Cup this is turning out to be for Cody Gakpo. The PSV Eindhoven man made history on Tuesday, scoring again for the Netherlands – he’s the first Dutch player to score in each of the opening three games.
Surprisingly, Gakpo isn’t even playing in his ‘natural’ position. He’s out on the left flank for PSV – a position from which he’s delivered nine goals and 12 assists in 14 Eredivisie games. Louis van Gaal has him playing centrally at the World Cup, however.
Gakpo is now thriving, of course, but he was initially reluctant. Van Gaal believes the 23-year-old will become a star on the back of the change, though.
“Cody is a very young player, he is 23 but looks younger,” said Van Gaal, per the BBC. “He has only been playing with PSV for two, three years and always played from the left.
“He did not want to play in the centre or at 10 but he did have to for me. Now he thinks I am a great head coach.
“Things can change but Cody has everything it takes to become a star. He has a wonderful personality to become a star player because he open minded to anything and everything.”
Cody Gakpo’s position change
Dutch journalist Hans Kraay tells ESPN that Liverpool really want to sign Gakpo. Pep Lijnders is apparently big on the idea, seeing him as a missing link for the Reds’ squad.
We were always unsure about it, though. Gakpo is brilliant but Liverpool have enough left-wingers in the squad. Would he even get games when Luis Díaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez are options on that side?
Gakpo playing centrally changes things, however. He could now be a successor to Roberto Firmino as a False 9 and there’s a chance Liverpool could turn him into a no.8 in midfield.
If the Reds truly do want Gakpo, Van Gaal’s brave change will have removed all doubt.
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