“Level in England higher”
Similar to his new club, Liverpool FC’s only winter signing is not yet getting going: Cody Gakpo has had six games in the Reds jersey since his 42 million transfer from Eindhoven to date – goals or assists are non-existent. The 23-year-old, who was one of the absolute top scorers in Europe in the first half of the season and the Netherlands’ top scorer during the World Cup in Qatar, is also struggling with the general crisis at the LFC, his new Bonds coach Ronald Koeman has now confirmed.
In the eyes of the 59-year-old, who started his second term and succeeded Louis van Gaal at KNVB earlier in the year, the move to the Premier League may have come too soon for Gakpo. Although it is good when young Dutch players make it into the top European leagues, this also entails risks. “The level in England is higher than in the Netherlands, but it’s boys too, isn’t it? Just like Ryan Gravenberch goes to Bayern Munich and doesn’t play. Then it’s difficult,” he said on the YouTube show “By Andy in the car‘, moderated by former footballer Andy van der Meyde. Gravenberch, who was mentioned by Koeman and switched from Ajax Amsterdam to Säbener Straße in the summer for 18.5 million euros, has not yet been able to assert himself with the German record champions. The 20-year-old has only made twelve short Bundesliga appearances so far – the longest lasted 45 minutes.
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“You can see that he ended up in a team that is not doing well. Then it will be more difficult for him as a newcomer. You’re put to the test right away and if you don’t score or aren’t important for the game and the team loses, it’s very difficult, especially for a young player. If that happens to someone aged 28 and with a lot of experience, it would be a little different,” Koeman continued, referring to Gakpo. The new ‘Elftal’ coach has announced he will keep a close eye on all ‘Dutch exports’ as he considers his squad selection for the start of the European Championship qualifiers in March. The bonds coach and his team then meet France and Gibraltar.
Gakpo became the first player from Europe’s top 15 leagues to record both goals and assists in double digits this season. At the beginning of October, the left winger had twelve goals and ten assists in 15 games for PSV, and by the end of the year there were even 30 goals in 24 competitive games. Despite his mixed start at struggling Liverpool FC, who is still waiting for his first league win in 2023, coach Jürgen Klopp recently expressed his confidence in his new signing: “You can see from his goal that he is a sensational finisher, his shot from the Distance is excellent. I’m absolutely happy, even if people say he hasn’t scored yet.”
Klopp is also aware of the attacker’s difficult situation. “If you join a team as a striker in a phase like this…then congratulations! But internally everything is fine and he is fine. He is a smart boy, he really wants to learn and is a good listener. Everything is fine,” said the tenth-placed coach.
With Kolo Muani & Gakpo: The top scorers of the 2022/23 season
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