Cody Gakpo faces a difficult challenge in his career when he has to play in a team that has seriously declined both professionally and mentally.

The goal that was fiercely pursued by Manchester United had a bad start in English football. The star of the Dutch team played 6 matches, lost 3, drew 2 and only won 1 match. Liverpool’s £37 million signing failed to score or assist.

Those are really forgettable statistics for a player who rose to prominence on stats like Gakpo. In the first half of this season, the Dutch striker scored 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 matches in all competitions for PSV.

Hard start

It should be remembered that Liverpool have a team of scouts and management that are good at buying. Luis Diaz or Diogo Jota, the latest rookies of “The Kop”, quickly integrated and left an impression right at the beginning. However, in top football there is always the concept of “sinusoidal graph”, ie no system succeeds forever.

The Anfield team’s recruitment and selection system has won big over the years, but they can’t always maintain their sanity. Gakpo was brought in to replace Diaz, Jota or Roberto Firmino, who for various reasons could not play regularly from the beginning of the season.

Liverpool’s attack, once the pride of coach Jurgen Klopp, played poorly this season. If you don’t count the strange 9-0 win over Bournemouth last August, the port city team has only scored 25 goals in 20 games in the English league this season – a record equal to Aston Villa and even less than Leeds United. (28 goals), the team is in the race against relegation.

Impressive performance since the beginning of the season with PSV, followed by the performance in the 2022 World Cup with the Netherlands helped Gakpo receive a ticket to Anfield. He didn’t even take too long to be on the main pitch, in the context of an injury storm that dominated the Liverpool squad. However, Liverpool is not the team it was a few years ago. Their system has serious problems, the morale of the players is low.

Those things became barriers that made Gakpo difficult. Liverpool fans also have the right to question that when the team is in trouble, the more Gakpo needs to show his talent. Not only Jota or Diaz, but many of Liverpool’s past rookies like Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah also scored on their debut. Darwin Nunez made an even better impression than Gakpo, even when the Uruguayan striker was mocked for missing a goal.

Gakpo has not shown any outstanding play since arriving at Anfield in the January transfer window. The 23-year-old star is not too good at dribbling like Salah, nor does he have the ability to speed up and rush into the opponent’s defense like Nunez. The Dutch player is not as strong as Mane or as mischievous as Diaz, Jota. His greatest strength is his ability to shoot and position, which has contributed to an impressive number of goals and assists in the first half of the season.

Disadvantages in gameplay

Gakpo’s performance makes people question whether he is really the piece Liverpool need at the moment. If Klopp’s team plays well and the system runs smoothly, Gakpo will definitely be a useful factor from the bench. All rookies need time to settle in. But in the context of “The Kop” in trouble, the player born in 1999 had to play the role of “savior” immediately.

Gakpo hasn’t done that yet. “At the moment, I like playing on the left wing because I’ve been used to this position for four years, but maybe I will develop better in another position,” Gakpo admitted the strangeness of Liverpool’s new system. last month. “I played in the central (striker) position against Wolves and Chelsea. I love it. But it’s also a position I’m not used to and need to develop further.”

At the age of 23, Gakpo still doesn’t know what position he will really play permanently. The Dutch player is good at finishing, moving between lines to exploit space from the opponent’s defense but not a real striker. Gakpo is also not exactly an excellent passer due to limitations in his ability to dribble or create opportunities on his own. To be able to develop in the position of striker or center, Gakpo needs more time.

“I don’t know if I’ll end up there (centre – PV), but Louis van Gaal told me that eventually I would end up in a central (striker) position, So maybe I will,” Gakpo admitted. Liverpool may not be wrong to try to bring in a young player with a lot of potential. which position shines immediately is unthinkable.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, head coach of PSV, said that Gakpo was too hasty when he went to Liverpool. “I advised Gakpo to wait until the summer. Then he rejected my advice. Gakpo listened to Virgil van Dijk urging him to join Liverpool,” Nistelrooy said. “Gakpo told me he wanted to go abroad. Gakpo could have scored with great midfielders like Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.”

Of course, that is just the personal opinion of Ruud van Nistelrooy, a former MU striker. Gakpo can still become a top striker in the future, but at the moment, it is not easy for him to shine in a Liverpool team with many problems. In football, choosing the right club at the right time can define a player’s career. Is Gakpo wrong to go to Liverpool at a time when this club is in decline?