After Liverpool’s disappointing 4-3 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, Cody Gakpo has found himself perhaps unfairly scapegoated by a section of supporters on social media.
The forward has scored 13 goals for Liverpool so far this season despite finding himself in and out of Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI. But struggling to find his best form, our writers debate Gakpo’s role in the Liverpool squad and whether there is reason to be concerned.
With Liverpool now up to 120 goals scored across all competitions this term, it seems harsh in the extreme to critique their output up top.
But after close to 18 months since his arrival of PSV Eindhoven, it seems Cody Gakpo is still trying to find a place within this Reds’ setup.
Jurgen Klopp has tried him through the middle – as a sort Roberto Firmino-lite ‘false 9′ – as well as the most advanced midfielder in an adventurous 4-2-3-1 system. The Netherlands international has occasionally been deployed on the left of the front three, where he made his name in Dutch football too.
But if Gakpo has yet to properly convince everyone in any of those slots, that perhaps does a disservice to the importance of his current status within the ranks.
With Darwin Nunez on 17 for the season, Mohamed Salah up to 21 and an injured Diogo Jota on 14, Gakpo’s more-than-respectable return of 13 sees him fourth in the list of scorers for the Reds this term.
And with Klopp in possession of his strongest lineup of frontmen since his arrival at Anfield back in 2015, there is no shame in the 24-year-old sitting in as a key member of a squad whose rotation policy has kept them firmly in the hunt for both the Premier League and Europa League to fit neatly alongside the Carabao Cup trophy.
He may not necessarily be in first-choice, undroppable form just now but it’ll be all hands on deck between now and and the end of the campaign.
When Liverpool were competing for an unprecedented quadruple in 2021/22, it was Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino who were bottom of their attacking pecking order. The pair scored a combined 16 goals, and were crucial to the Reds’ success in the League Cup and FA Cup, but netted just six times in the Premier League.
