Cody Gakpo has had a challenging first month at Liverpool, despite nothing of his own doing.
The Netherlands international has struggled to make an impact in his first few weeks at Anfield after being officially announced as a Reds player just before the new year.
Gakpo has been forced into the action as a result of joining a team that lacks confidence and has few options, particularly up top. These demands are unfair given that Gakpo is still adjusting to life on Merseyside and that Jurgen Klopp’s team’s results and performances have fallen somewhat short of the required standard. Moving from a hotel room into a new home in the next few days should at least greatly aid in the adjustment process off the field.
Gakpo claims: “It’s a new setting on the field, with new players and a new team, from the perspective of football. It appears to be a pretty outstanding bunch. I eagerly anticipate working with them, working out hard, and participating in the games every day. I’m attempting to adapt as rapidly as possible, to get better every day, and to ultimately present the greatest version of myself.”
In Friday’s pre-game news conference prior to Sunday’s FA Cup trip to Brighton, boss Klopp acknowledged that there have been high expectations placed on the £37 million forward to impress right away.
Regarding his new player’s first month at the club, Klopp expressed his “total happiness.” “People claim he didn’t score, but anyway, congratulations on joining our team as a striker at this time! It’s extremely cool that you be graded after you don’t receive a score. He is fine and everything is fine on the inside. He is a bright young man who has a strong desire to learn and is an excellent listener. The situation is fine.”
Klopp and his staff have clearly come to terms with the fact that the Netherlands forward won’t be able to perform at his peak while the rest of the team is still having trouble, and the former PSV Eindhoven striker hasn’t been given the same amount of time away from the spotlight to adjust to life at Liverpool as players like Andy Robertson and Fabinho were upon their respective arrivals.
Even a high-profile January addition like Luis Diaz did not enter the club under the same conditions he did 12 months earlier. The Colombian international came on board when Klopp and his medical team had a few weeks off from the regular calendar and could focus on getting some important players back in shape.
In addition to easing the immediate strain on Diaz, the approaching returns of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah from their international service at the Africa Cup of Nations also contributed to their success.
In contrast, Gakpo finds himself in a circumstance where Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, and Diaz are absent from Liverpool and the team is lacking in confidence. Both of these players have been injured since October, with the former missing the last eight games due to a calf injury. Why there aren’t immediate results is understandable.
According to Robbie Fowler, it has been a little difficult for him. “He just joined the team and is still getting his bearings, although he has already played a couple of times out of position.
“But he has performed amazingly well if you consider where he has previously played and where he has played at the World Cup. It has major implications for the Premier League. The Premier League has a completely different pace and level of pressure than other leagues.
Not every player can adjust [quickly] to playing for Liverpool because you talk about the mental part of the game and a Liverpool player’s attitude has to be perfect. Add that to the pressure of playing for Liverpool as well.
“I am not questioning his mentality to play for Liverpool for the life of me, but they are a team who have had the very best people coming into the club and they have done so much due diligence in bringing him in, so you don’t write him off yet, you don’t write any player off,” the author said.
It is way too early to make any serious conclusions about Liverpool after only 171 total minutes of play. The 23-year-old has so far been asked to play more centrally despite having earned his name on the left side of the attack, where he scored three goals in five World Cup appearances for the Netherlands.
In the goalless draw with Chelsea last week, Klopp made the fascinating decision to keep Gakpo in the middle of the front three after Darwin Nunez came off the bench.
He acknowledges, “It is a little bit different from what I’m used to. “For virtually the last three years, I have typically played on the left. Playing as a striker is something I can get better at, and I want to demonstrate my talent there. Being in that position improves my technical play since it’s a terrific position.
If you give him some time to adjust and get used to a new league, a new nation, and a new atmosphere, Fowler continues, “I’m confident he’ll be a guy that we all want to watch, scoring goals.
I’m a striker, and I believe that at some point, something will fall in for him. Whether it is off his knee or backside, and I realize this is a real cliche response, but sometimes you just need a little luck. They could all use a little bit of luck right now, not just him but the club as a whole as well.
Therefore, it is not just in Gakpo; other places exist as well. There is no doubt that the job being done behind the scenes will continue, even if he has found it difficult.