Netherlands legend ‘confident’ £40m Liverpool star will improve after stuttering start
Wesley Sneijder is “confident” Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo will improve after a slow start to his Anfield career following his big-money move last month.
The Reds paid around £40million to sign the Netherlands forward from PSV in the January transfer window.
There was a lot of interest in the 23-year-old with a move to Manchester United widely expected before Liverpool swooped in and secured the signing.
Having contributed to 21 goals in 14 Eredivisie games this season, Gakpo joined with lofty expectations.
However, it has not quite happened for him yet in a Liverpool shirt.
In five matches across all competitions, the former PSV star has failed to score or assist a goal.
You do get the impression that Jurgen Klopp does not know Gakpo’s best position yet. He has often played through the middle, while Darwin Nunez plays off the left.
With goal contributions not happening yet, Klopp has been high in praise of Gakpo’s… defending.
He said last week: “His defending is outstanding.
“Now you will say we bought a striker and talk about defending, but the defending in this position is outstanding.
“This central position, that’s really what we need.
“Everybody in this team is used to that when the ball goes wide and goes inside to the No. 6 that there is somebody around.
“Then all of a sudden there is nobody around and then pass the ball from there.
“Against Chelsea, there were two sixes. Brighton, two sixes. That’s the engine room, the decisive room of a football pitch, and we just let [Brighton] pass the ball and, woops, done. That’s not possible.
“So that’s really good. He’s good on the ball; you can see in his finishing, he’s a sensational finisher; his shooting from distance, outstanding.
“But, in the games, he’s a bit in a rush, and in moments not in the right position, so you cannot even see that [yet].
“That is an extreme strength of him. Everyone – he’s got a long-term contract here – will see that. So I’m completely happy.
“Of course, people say ‘yes, but he didn’t score’, but coming as a striker in our team in this moment – congratulations – and then getting judged because you don’t score. That’s really cool…
“But, of course, internally it’s all fine. He’s fine. He’s a smart boy, he really wants to learn, a really good listener, so everything’s fine with him.”
While Gakpo is yet to get off the mark for Liverpool, his compatriot and ex-Netherlands playmaker Sneijder does believe the 23-year-old will come good after a period of adapting to life in England.
Sneijder is quoted telling Stats Perform: “Of course, I’m confident [he can improve at Liverpool].
“It’s always difficult to change clubs during the season. You don’t get the time to adapt.
“Normally when you start with a new club in the pre-season, you have a longer period to adapt to the system, to adapt to the country, to adapt to everything, and to English football as well.
“Now he arrived and he has to play directly so it’s difficult, and we should give him some more time because he’s a great player with a lot of progression.”
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