Ronald Koeman questions Cody Gakpo decision to join Liverpool
According to Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman, Liverpool FC’s only January signing Cody Gakpo joined the club in a hurry and ideally should have shown more patience before making the move from PSV Eindhoven.
The 23-year-old joined from the Eredivisie for a fee of £37m. Even though it is early days in his career at the Reds, people have expected a lot from him given his form coming into the team but sadly, the player doesn’t have any goal contributions yet in six appearances.
Moreover, in six of these games, Liverpool have won only one and that too in the FA Cup which certainly speaks levels of the team’s performance at the moment. Gakpo will only perform when the other players also start getting to a certain level as it is not easy for the player to adjust to a new league.
After departing from PSV Eindhoven in January, Koeman raised concerns about the Dutch international Gakpo’s ability to quickly acclimate to the Premier League, citing Ryan Gravenberch’s difficult beginning at Bayern Munich as a comparable situation.
Here is what he said via Evening Standard:
“The level in England is higher than in the Netherlands, but they are also young boys, aren’t they?”
“Like Gravenberch going to Bayern and not playing. Then that is difficult.”
“You can see that he has ended up in a team that is not doing well.
“Then it becomes more difficult for him, as a new signing. You are tested right away. And if you don’t score or you’re not important and you don’t win any matches, it’s very difficult, especially for a young player.”
Gakpo for the Reds
Koeman is right when he says the Reds are a struggling team at the moment. And as earlier mentioned, the team being nowhere near their usual self isn’t helping Gakpo by any means, with due respect, he is by no means a Lionel Messi to turn around the fortunes of a struggling team single-handedly.
Hopefully, now that he is settling in and will soon enter the third month of his career at Liverpool, he starts finding the back of the net more often than not. Gakpo had scored nine goals and made 12 assists in 14 Eredivisie matches for PSV this season before joining Liverpool.
Liverpool’s next game is a Merseyside derby clash with Everton on Monday and there is certainly no better occasion for the Dutchman to mark his first goal in Red. Hopefully, Cody, you’re reading this. Take matters into your own hands and make it count.
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Only time will tell if Koeman’s assessment proves accurate, but for now, all eyes will be on Gakpo as he continues his journey with Liverpool. Regardless of the outcome, Gakpo’s move to Liverpool is a testament to his talent and potential, and fans can expect to see an exciting player take the field in the near future.
