Dutch international Cody Gakpo has yet to get off the mark for Liverpool since his arrival in the January transfer window from PSV Eindhoven. The forward has arrived at the club during a difficult run of form for Jurgen Klopp’s team, who have just one win in seven games.
Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo has reported on Gakpo’s recent quotes surrounding his start to life on Merseyside. Gakpo admits that the team’s recent performances have made his adaptation to the Premier League difficult.
“It’s always different when you come into a team that was maybe first and winning every game, but it’s now in a little bit of a difficult situation,” the Dutchman said.
“So for me it is to come in and show what I can. If we were in first I have to do that and now we are in another place I have to do that also. I just try to show my best side.”
Gakpo says Klopp has helped enormously with his adaptation to life in England.
“The coach gave me a really warm welcome and I really appreciated it. We had a good conversation and now he is helping me to adapt as fast as possible in the team and to his style of playing. To do that I need to keep working hard and improving.”
Gakpo then discusses his versatility in the forward line, having played extensively as a left winger for PSV and for his country.
“I am somebody with a direct style of playing, a hard worker and a winner,” he said. “I’m an attacking player who can dribble, score and make assists. It’s a good asset to have that I can play in multiple positions, but in the end I think every player has one position that he likes the most and maybe that is where the player is at his best.”
“At the moment for me, I like to play on the left wing because I played there for four years so that is what I am used to, but maybe I will develop better in another position and then play there.”
Once climatized to the pace of the Premier League, Liverpool supporters will hope that Gakpo’s versatility can help him find the right position for him in the team. Liverpool will need all their front men firing on all cylinders for the rest of the campaign if they are to earn a place in European football next season.
