Cody Gakpo ready for season-defining Liverpool campaign after what he’s done at Euro 2024
Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo has been in stellar form for the Netherlands at Euro 2024 so far.
Of all the players in the Dutch squad, it feels as if the former PSV man has been the one who’s made the most impact.
Although his form with the Reds has sometimes been spotty, following his solid showing in Germany, this could be the season he finally fulfills the potential he showed at the Qatar World Cup.
Arne Slot will certainly be hoping that’s the case as he aims to dethrone Manchester City in his debut season [Liverpool Official YouTube channel, 5 July].
How good actually is Liverpool ace Cody Gakpo?
The Dutchman was signed by the Reds in January 2023 and has been a regular first-teamer for Jurgen Klopp.
As per Sofascore, the versatile attacker scored eight Premier League goals last term which slightly underperformed his xG rate of 8.96. All eight of his goals came from inside the box and he only managed a goal conversion rate of 12%.
Despite his low conversion rate, his xG and actual goals are fairly close. When looking at his stats from Euro 2024, however, the Netherlands international has actually managed to outperform his xG.
Throughout the tournament thus far Gakpo has scored three goals while only having a mere 1.06 xG.
Not only does this show how strongly he’s performing but it also shows how clinical and effective he can be in front of a goal.
Throughout the entirety of the tournament the winger has managed to create four big chances, 2.2 key passes per game and has even managed to win 60 per cent of his aerial duels.
One of the key reasons why the 25-year-old is likely performing better for his country is the fact that he is being used in his natural position of left-wing.
For Klopp, he was more often than not deployed in the number nine role and while his finishing is usually pretty decent, he gets into much better positions by dribbling down the left-hand side of the pitch and finding his way through an opposition’s defence.
And, in his most recent match against Turkey, despite failing to register a goal or assist, Gakpo was once again in fine form.
The 25-year-old managed to complete 86 per cent of his passes throughout the game and had 50 per cent of his shots on target.
He was successful with 66 per cent of his dribbles and he managed to cause a headache for Turkey right-back, Mert Muldur.
Although one tournament can’t be the defining factor between whether Gakpo starts week in and week out for the Reds, it can certainly do his chances no harm.
There has been plenty of noise around the attacker’s future, especially with the Reds’ interest in Crysencio Summerville [Wiebe de Vries, 4 July] but with the Slot era now underway, it’s hard to see why he’d be sold.
In other Liverpool news, Alexis Mac Allister looks set to lead the Slot era at Anfield.
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