Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has claimed that Cody Gakpo has a skillset that is so rare for a football player.
Reds fans are now seeing the reason their club shelled out £35m on Gakpo during the January transfer window. The 23-year-old has kicked on after a slow start at Anfield – scoring four goals in the last six games.
And speaking to The Athletic, Lijnders has praised his countryman for his ‘special’ talents.
“Cody is just a great boy. He’s got a special skill set but above all, he’s a good fit for our style. He has personality, he assumes responsibility in the game, and he thinks two or three steps ahead,” gushed the coach.
“Not many players have that combination. We are really happy we could add him to our team.”
Gakpo starting to show what he’s all about
How good is it to see Gakpo silencing the doubters over recent games? Of course, it’s ludicrous that the 23-year-old should have had such doubters barely a handful of games into his Liverpool career. But that’s modern football.
With the Reds in terrible shape generally, it was a really tough time to come into the side. As a result, Gakpo was subject to some poor early takes from pundits and press who probably should know better.
Slowly though, you could see that the penny was starting to drop for Cody. Used to playing from the left at PSV Eindhoven, the Netherlands international has had to get used to a more central role at Liverpool. With Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah either side of him, he’s had to adjust very quickly.
But adjust he has. As the games go by, you can visibly see more and more confidence flowing through Gakpo. The two finishes last weekend against Manchester United were those of a man feeling right at home.
With their No.18 going from strength to strength and Darwin Nunez also flourishing, there are exciting times ahead for Liverpool’s forward line.
Once Luis Diaz is fit and available again it’s going to be really interesting to see what Jurgen Klopp does. With Roberto Firmino now definitely leaving, it looks like Gakpo has been earmarked for his role. But where then does that leave Nunez, Diaz, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah? Finally, a ‘good headache’ for Lijnders and Klopp this season!