“Not 100% convinced”- Former PL star sheds light on Liverpool newboy’s ability to shine

Former Liverpool fullback Jose Enrique ‘not convinced’ by the prospect of Cody Gakpo

13 goals and 17 assists for PSV plus the three goals for the Netherlands in the World Cup all in the current season later, Dutch winger Cody Gakpo finds himself in Merseyside wearing the Liverpool jersey after securing a transfer for a fee of £35m in the January window.

The 23-year-old saw himself extensively linked with a move to Manchester United before the Merseysiders came in and hijacked the deal for the player. He made his debut for Liverpool in the FA Cup draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Gakpo put in a solid performance even though he didn’t score or get an assist. Did the basics right, and was above average in the final third.

It is just the start of his career at a new club and this is the first move for the player in his career as he stood associated with PSV’s team since the age of eight. Gakpo is in contention to face Brighton this weekend and that could be his Premier League debut.

However, former Liverpool fullback Jose Enrique, speaking to FairBettingSites (h/t Liverpool Echo) said that he is not convinced by the player, but since he has played only one game for the Reds, he does not want to sound unfair to the player as well. Here is what the Spaniard said:

“What I have seen from Holland, goals and assists and the numbers are great, but Holland is not the Premier League obviously. I need to see him, but I am not 100% convinced about the player just yet. I don’t want to be unfair to him either, but I need to see him play more for Liverpool.”

Gakpo needs time at Liverpool

His goalscoring record is great, as earlier mentioned, and hopefully that transitions into Liverpool as well. However, the demands of the Premier League and the Eredivisie are completely different as rightly pointed out by Enrique, and we could hope that the player shines in his newfound home.

At Liverpool though, he could play as a second fiddle for Luis Diaz on the left side of the attack as Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino are all excellent players playing through the middle, and the right wing obviously has Mohamed Salah.

With time and enough appearances, Enrique himself could be a good enough judge of the player’s time at Liverpool. But at the moment, with only one game for the Reds behind his back, it is surely unfair to say that the player has not been good enough.

More Liverpool News:

• Liverpool opt out of activating Arthur Melo’s buyout clause
• Andy Cole has jumped to the defence of Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez
• Bacary Sagna believes that Liverpool will not finish in the top four of the Premier League

Enrique is one of the most vocal former Liverpool players on Social Media. But this comment from him seems a bit wet behind the ears. Either way, he will know whether Gakpo is the right investment or not in not so long.