Cody Gakpo: A Star for Country, A Puzzle for Club

Cody Gakpo had just ripped through Sweden, twice, when the question came. How does this version of him – sharp, liberated, decisive in Oranje – compare to the one Liverpool fans have watched over the past year?

“A good question. Obviously it's a little bit different,” he said, before hinting at tactical contrasts and “freedom” and then catching himself, choosing silence over a headline.

That pause said plenty.

A star for country, a puzzle for club

Gakpo’s World Cup numbers are the kind that make sporting directors lean forward. Five goals in seven games at the tournament across 2022 and now, 23 in 52 caps overall. Against Sweden he was ruthless: a back-post tap-in, then the familiar move – glide in from the left, open the body, whip it in with his right. Classic Gakpo, the PSV version, the Netherlands version.

It comes at a delicate moment for his Liverpool career.

Under Arne Slot in 2024-25, he looked like a cornerstone of the new era: 18 goals, seven assists, 49 games, a title in the bag. That return earned him a long-term contract last summer and genuine contentment at Anfield. He was not a squad player then. He was a mainstay.

Last season told a different story. More appearances, fewer numbers: nine goals, six assists, and a campaign that sagged across the board. He was not alone in underperforming, but he was not immune either. In a side that laboured, his form dipped with it, and the debate around his best role only grew louder.

The left flank logjam

Gakpo is clear about where he feels at home: off the left. That is where his instincts sharpen, where the cut-ins and combinations come most naturally. Yet Liverpool’s recruitment department has spent the summer months drawing a thick red circle around that very area of the pitch.

Victor Munoz has already arrived from Osasuna for £34.5m, another winger whose primary habitat is the left flank. Liverpool are also pushing hard for Yan Diomande, the 19-year-old RB Leipzig forward, with an £86m package on the table for a player who can operate on either wing.

On paper, that is two potential rivals for Gakpo’s preferred berth.

Inside the team, there is another layer. His understanding with Milos Kerkez on that side of the pitch was a work in progress last season. Kerkez loves to go on the outside, to overlap aggressively. Gakpo, at times, drifted inside too early or held onto the ball too long, and the timing between them faltered.

As the season wore on, the connection improved. Kerkez now has the added comfort of working again under Andoni Iraola, his former Bournemouth manager, who is expected to fast-track the Hungary international’s development. A more confident, more polished Kerkez could be exactly the full-back Gakpo needs to unlock that flank properly.

If he stays.

Proven quality, rising competition

Liverpool do not view Gakpo as expendable. Far from it. Fifty goals in 180 games is a serious return, and only Dirk Kuyt has previously reached a half-century for the club among Dutch players. When fit, Gakpo has usually been first choice.

His versatility matters too. With Hugo Ekitike facing a long spell out, potentially until 2027 with a ruptured Achilles, Iraola inherits a squad short of central options. Gakpo’s ability to play through the middle offers a safety net as the attack is rebuilt.

Yet the landscape around him is shifting fast.

Mohamed Salah has gone. At least one more attacker is expected before the window shuts, and the Diomande pursuit is gathering pace. Rio Ngumoha, the gifted teenager, is primed for a bigger role. Florian Wirtz, who often drifted off the left for Liverpool last season and is doing the same for Germany at the World Cup, adds another layer of complexity.

How Iraola chooses to use Wirtz could be decisive. If the German becomes the preferred option from the left or as a roaming playmaker starting in that channel, Gakpo’s minutes there shrink. If Wirtz is locked into a more central role, the door reopens.

This is no longer a simple case of “Gakpo plays if fit”. It is a tactical jigsaw.

Interest from elsewhere

For the first time since he walked through the doors at Anfield in December 2022, a departure is not unthinkable.

Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs monitoring his situation, aware that Liverpool’s attacking rebuild could create an opportunity. Any deal would not come cheap: Liverpool would expect upwards of £60m, a hefty profit on the initial £35m paid to PSV Eindhoven after the 2022 World Cup.

Gakpo’s performances in Qatar helped secure that move. His start to this World Cup could yet shape the next one.

While Alexander Isak, his Liverpool team-mate at club level, failed to score for Sweden in the same game, Gakpo stole the spotlight. It was a reminder to the market – and to Liverpool – of what he looks like in full flow, in a system built around his strengths.

Influence beyond the pitch

Inside the Netherlands camp, his status stretches beyond goals and assists. Those close to the squad talk of a tight, unified group, and Gakpo has become a key figure in that dynamic.

“Cody is our pastor – he leads the prayers,” said Crysencio Summerville, underlining his influence off the pitch as much as on it. He is one of the quieter leaders, but a leader all the same.

Virgil van Dijk, captain for both club and country, does not need persuading of his worth.

“He is an outstanding footballer,” Van Dijk said after the 5-1 win over Sweden. “He works so hard for the team, he's disciplined and his quality stands out – his crosses, his assists, his goals.”

Those words carry weight at Anfield.

The summer question

Liverpool’s recruitment team know how unforgiving the adaptation process can be. Isak and Wirtz both endured uneven first seasons at the club, a useful reminder that big reputations and big fees do not guarantee immediate impact.

Gakpo, by contrast, has already shown he can deliver over a full Premier League campaign. That is not easily replaced.

So Iraola faces a choice. Lean into what he already has – a proven, flexible attacker entering his prime – or cash in while the market is hot and trust that Munoz, Diomande, Ngumoha and Wirtz can carry the load.

Gakpo cannot answer that. For now, his world is orange, not red. His focus is the World Cup, where he is scoring, leading, and quietly strengthening his hand.

Liverpool will watch every minute. Because as they reshape an attack that stuttered last season, the question is no longer whether Cody Gakpo is good enough.

It is whether they can really afford to let him go.