Cody Gakpo will start as a forward for the Netherlands this week and he is planning his future in midfield, which could be a problem for Darwin Nez.
Darwin Nez is on holiday ahead of next season, having completed his first campaign on English shores after leaving Benfica for Liverpool last summer. The 23-year-old striker has not been called up by Marcelo Bielsa to represent Uruguay this week due to a minor injury problem, meaning he can rest and recover before next season.
However, while recovering, Cody Gakpo will be busy representing the Netherlands. His Dutch side will face Croatia this week in the Nations League semi-final, and based on some of his pre-match remarks, Nez should be quietly interested in what awaits him. in red shirt. It looks like Gakpo will be used in the center of the match against Croatia, with Memphis Depay injured and unable to feature. The Liverpool forward initially joined the Reds from PSV Eindhoven as a winger in the January transfer window, but all signs point to him developing into a midfielder.
Speaking to Dutch publication AD recently, Gakpo said:
"[Guus] Hiddink was the first [to mention the change]. He had a stint at PSV as an advisory board. I didn't want to believe it at the time. And not when Roger Schmidt later said the same to PSV.
"I've been more stubborn now, I feel good on the left. But at the last World Cup, I played more central on the pitch and in Liverpool even continuously for the last six months. I'm just more excited. when improving at this place in the near future. [Liverpool] plays with two wingers up high and a striker who can also drop down to join midfield. Klopp saw me do it, he said after I arrived in January. And so am I now."
It remains to be seen where Gakpo will find himself on the pitch as he continues to mature as a player, but for him, everything seems to indicate that he will become a a fixed presence in the center of the field rather than a player on the flanks. , which is why he continues to be compared to Roberto Firmino.
Since signing in the winter transfer window, Gakpo has been used as a successor to Firmino, filling Liverpool's difficult virtual No 9 role. He has performed well and at 24, he still has plenty of time to continue to develop in his quest to become an improved version of the Brazilian, who is leaving Anfield this summer after eight years. Memorable service. The Dutchman has all the qualities needed to be a true contributor at Merseyside, but his growing presence - along with claims of becoming a central striker mind - will worry Nez, who joined Liverpool as a record signing less than 12 months ago.
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