The Gakpo Conundrum: Liverpool's Dutch Dilemma Deepens

A Star Shining in the Wrong Shirt

Here is the uncomfortable truth Liverpool's recruitment team does not want to confront: Cody Gakpo looks like a different player when he pulls on an orange shirt. For the Netherlands, he is a decisive, dynamic forward who drags defenders into spaces they don't want to occupy. For Liverpool, he is a useful squad member who can't quite nail down a permanent role. That gap between international talisman and domestic rotation option is widening, and it is becoming the defining tension of Gakpo's Anfield career.

The 25-year-old arrived at Anfield in January 2023 from PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of around £37 million, a transfer that felt like a coup at the time. Liverpool had beaten Manchester United to his signature, and Gakpo's dazzling World Cup campaign in Qatar, where he scored three goals in the group stage, suggested they had secured a generational talent. Two years on, the picture is considerably more complicated.

The Netherlands Version of Gakpo

When Gakpo represents his country, something clicks. The tactical structure of the Dutch national team places him at the heart of the attacking phase, giving him license to drift, combine, and arrive in dangerous areas with the kind of timing that makes defenders look foolish. He is not asked to sacrifice himself for a system. He is the system's primary outlet.

His recent Nations League performances have reinforced this point emphatically. Gakpo has been the standout performer in an otherwise inconsistent Dutch side, showcasing the directness, technical quality, and finishing instinct that first attracted Liverpool's scouts to Eindhoven. For the Netherlands, his role is clearly defined: receive between the lines, drive at defenders, and finish with conviction.

What the Numbers Reveal

• Consistently among the Netherlands' top performers in chance creation and expected output
• Three goals at the 2022 World Cup, all in the group stage, demonstrating big-tournament mentality
• Averages significantly higher touches in advanced positions for the national team compared to Liverpool
• His shot conversion and progressive carrying numbers spike noticeably in international fixtures

The contrast with his Liverpool output is stark. This is not a player underperforming his talent. This is a player whose talent is being deployed in a context that maximises it internationally and minimises it domestically.

The Bottom Line

Gakpo's Netherlands form is not an anomaly. It is a reminder of what he can do when the tactical architecture is built around him. The question is whether Liverpool can ever provide that.

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Liverpool's Attacking Arms Race

To understand Gakpo's predicament, you need to appreciate the sheer volume of attacking talent competing for minutes at Anfield. This is not a squad with a clear hierarchy in the final third. It is a battleground.

Mohamed Salah remains the undisputed first choice on the right flank, his output and status making him untouchable. On the left, Luis Díaz has established himself as Arne Slot's preferred option, combining relentless pressing with an improved end product. Through the middle, the Darwin Núñez experiment continues to divide opinion, but the Uruguayan's raw pace and physicality give Slot a profile that Gakpo simply cannot replicate.

Add Diogo Jota, whose intelligent movement and knack for crucial goals make him a perennial contender for minutes, and Federico Chiesa, signed in the summer of 2024 to add yet another dimension to the forward line, and you begin to see the scale of Gakpo's problem. He is competing for minutes with five players who all have legitimate claims to starting roles.

The Versatility Trap

Liverpool's coaching staff have long valued Gakpo's ability to play across the front line. He can operate as a left winger, a centre forward, or in the false nine role that Jürgen Klopp occasionally deployed him in during his first 18 months at the club. Under Slot, there have been experiments with Gakpo in a more withdrawn, creative position.

But versatility, in this context, is a double-edged sword. Gakpo's ability to fill multiple roles means he is the first name on the teamsheet when a starter is injured, but it also means he is rarely the first name on the teamsheet when everyone is fit. He is the ultimate utility forward, and utility forwards rarely build the kind of momentum that produces career-defining seasons.

The tactical nuance here matters. When Gakpo plays on the left for Liverpool, he is expected to do significant defensive work, tracking fullbacks and pressing from the front in Slot's structured system. When he plays centrally, he lacks the physical presence that Núñez offers. In neither role does he receive the same freedom he enjoys with the Netherlands.

Verdict

Liverpool's attacking depth is a luxury that comes at a cost. Gakpo is paying it.

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The Slot Factor: Dutch Connection, Dutch Disconnect

Arne Slot's appointment was supposed to be Gakpo's golden ticket. A Dutch manager with an appreciation for technical, intelligent forwards. A coach who understood the Eredivisie pipeline and could unlock players from that system. On paper, it was a perfect fit.

In practice, the relationship has been more nuanced. Slot has shown a preference for clearly defined roles within his tactical framework, and his Liverpool side operates with a level of positional discipline that can feel restrictive for a player like Gakpo, whose best moments come when he is allowed to roam and improvise.

Slot values structure. Gakpo thrives in chaos. That fundamental tension has defined the Dutchman's second full season at Anfield.

Slot has publicly praised Gakpo's attitude and professionalism, and there is no suggestion of a rift between player and manager. But praise and pitch time are different currencies. Gakpo has started matches this season, but the pattern is familiar: bright cameos, occasional starts, and long stretches watching from the bench.

What Happens Next?

This is where the conversation becomes genuinely difficult for Liverpool's hierarchy. Gakpo is under contract and, at 25, is entering his theoretical prime. Selling him would mean accepting a loss on a player whose transfer fee reflected World Cup hype more than proven Premier League output. Keeping him risks a depreciating asset who grows increasingly frustrated with his role.

Several scenarios loom on the horizon:

1. Gakpo stays and fights — He reclaims a regular starting role through sheer force of will and output, something he has threatened but never sustained over a full campaign.
2. A loan move materialises — A January or summer loan to a Champions League club could give him the minutes he needs while keeping his Liverpool options open.
3. A permanent departure — Interest from the Bundesliga, Serie A, and even a return to the Eredivisie would surface immediately if Liverpool signalled willingness to sell. PSV would almost certainly explore a reunion.
4. The Salah succession plan — With Salah's long-term future perpetually in question, Gakpo could be repositioned as the Egyptian's eventual replacement on the right wing, though this remains speculative.

The financial dimension cannot be ignored either. Liverpool have invested heavily in their attacking options, and the amortisation of Gakpo's transfer fee is a factor in any decision. A sale below £30 million would represent a notable loss on the books, something Fenway Sports Group's analytics-driven approach would struggle to justify unless the sporting case was overwhelming.

The International Window Problem

Every international break now creates the same cycle. Gakpo excels for the Netherlands, social media fills with clips of his goals and assists, and Liverpool fans ask why they don't see the same player at Anfield. It is not a coincidence. The Netherlands system is built to amplify his strengths. Liverpool's system, however well-intentioned, asks him to suppress them.

The Bottom Line

Gakpo's future at Liverpool will not be decided by his talent, which is undeniable. It will be decided by whether the club can build a tactical structure that accommodates what he does best, or whether they accept that his skillset, however impressive, is a mismatch for their system. The evidence of the past two years suggests the latter. And if that is the conclusion, then the kindest thing Liverpool can do for both parties is let him go somewhere he can be the main character again.

The Netherlands version of Cody Gakpo is a genuinely elite forward. The Liverpool version is a very good squad player. The gap between those two identities is the story of his career at Anfield, and it is a gap that shows no sign of closing.