Could Cody Gakpo Be Used As A Central Midfielder By Jurgen Klopp For Liverpool?

Liverpool caught many by surprise when they announced the signing of Cody Gakpo late from PSV Eindhoven late on Boxing Day. Until then, Manchester United had been widely considered the frontrunners for the signing of the Dutch forward. Liverpool, however, felt they could let a player of such potential pass them by.

“He is a young player with a lot of potential,” said Jurgen Klopp. “If he would have already been scoring 40 goals in Spain or whatever he would be unaffordable. These kind of things are all about timing, getting these boys at the right moment that they didn’t already score 55 goals per season and stuff like this.

“That’s why we were really convinced he could make the next step, and that makes it interesting. We believe in our process, when players come here – especially offensive players – they have all made a step forward because of the way we work and the way we can help them. That makes it massively interesting.”

Almost as soon as Gakpo completed his move to Liverpool, discussion turned to how the Anfield outfit will fit the Netherlands international into their team. Klopp already boasts a number of world-class attacking options and so it’s not immediately clear how Gakpo will give Liverpool a different dimension of any value.

However, Liverpool’s need for a new attacking midfielder is clear which raises an interesting point about the signing of Gakpo – could the 23-year-old operate in that position for his new club? If Liverpool can’t get their hands on someone like Jude Bellingham, could Gakpo be tailored to give Klopp the same qualities?

Gakpo is a distinctly modern player in the way he can operate in a number of different ways. The 23-year-old is capable of playing in every position across the frontline and is even comfortable playing in behind a central striker. This is where it could be feasible for Gakpo to play in a slightly deeper position.

Technically, Gakpo has the ability on the ball to play as a midfielder. Liverpool need someone who can carry possession through the centre of the pitch at speed and the Dutchman certainly has the skill set to do that. Gakpo demonstrated just how effective he is at opening up between the lines for the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup.

Liverpool don’t need a new midfielder to anchor them in the centre of the pitch – they already have Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara with Stefan Bajcetic also recently emerging as a good squad option. Instead, Klopp needs an attack-minded ball carrier who can open up space and create overloads. Gakpo, in many ways, ticks a lot of boxes.