Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo must be raring to go for the new season at Anfield.
Gakpo was perhaps frustrated at times with his role under Jurgen Klopp last term, having been in and out of the side.
With his compatriot Arne Slot now in charge though, the 25-year-old will be hoping to nail down a starting spot in the Liverpool XI.
Gakpo ended the season in good form under Klopp and took that into Euro 2024 with the Netherlands. His three goals ensured the former PSV Eindhoven man ended the tournament as join top scorer.
Slot was impressed with Gakpo and when he returns to the AXA Training Centre the forward should do so with a new-found confidence.
Gary Neville shares Cody Gakpo observation
Much of the issue – if you can call it an issue – with Gakpo at Liverpool has been that he has never truly found his position with the Reds.
Klopp admitted that he’d made a ‘mistake’ with Gakpo by continually shifting the Dutchman’s position around during their 18 months together.
It is now very clear indeed that Gakpo is a left-winger. That’s where he wants to play.
Unfortunately for him, there is competition for that position in the Liverpool squad. Luis Diaz is currently the man with the shirt, or at least was before Slot’s arrival.
READ MORE: Ryan Babel shares why he thinks ‘top talent’ Cody Gakpo could shine under Arne Slot
Nevertheless, according to pundit Gary Neville, Ruud van Nistelrooy – Gakpo’s former manager at PSV and current Man United assistant – has been adamant that to get the best out of the Netherlands international, you have to play him on the wing.
“I went to speak to Ruud just after he first had got to Liverpool and he [Gakpo] was struggling a little bit and I said what about Gakpo, because obviously United were looking at him,” Neville tells the Stick to Football podcast.
“And he said he’s a left winger, that’s it. So when Klopp was playing him false nine, centre forward or a bit deeper in midfield, Ruud had him at PSV and he said absolutely a left-winger and you watch him for Holland and he looks quick,” adds the pundit.
“He looks like he can run with the ball, he looks direct.”
Huge season ahead for Cody Gakpo
Gakpo looked like a man on a mission at Euro 2024. Although he was not able to drag his country to glory, he gave it his very best shot.
Having watched him toil a little for Liverpool over the last year-and-a-half it was a reminder to fans that they have a real player on their hands.
With Diaz doing well at Copa America too, though, Gakpo will not simply walk into the Liverpool team.
There are still question marks over Diaz’s future at the club, but for now it looks likely that he will stay for the time being.
As a result, the season ahead will be a big one for both Gakpo and his Colombian teammate. They both clearly want that same spot in the team and only one can get it on a regular basis.
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