There were no goals at Anfield but a manager reflected on what he termed “promising signs” from the forward signed in January. It was Graham Potter, not Jurgen Klopp, and the attacker in question was Mykhailo Mudryk, not Cody Gakpo. Any comparison is indirect and inexact, and not merely because Potter was asked about a debutant and Klopp was not quizzed about an arrival making his fourth appearance. It was Arsenal Chelsea pipped for Mudryk’s signature and Manchester United who were caught napping when Liverpool nipped in to get Gakpo.
Mudryk was a substitute, Gakpo a starter but a common denominator was a difficulty finding the target amid some wayward finishing: eye-catching as the £88 million man’s pace was, he directed two efforts into the side-netting and was seemingly caught unawares when his second chance fell to him. Gakpo had seven chances, skying the first and best, and the only one that tested Kepa Arrizabalaga was struck at him, albeit after a deft spin and shot.
But if one fundamental difference is that the Ukrainian cost twice as much as the Dutchman, and would presumably have been beyond Liverpool’s budget, another is that Mudryk’s bow came in his preferred role, on the left wing. It is Gakpo’s best position, too, and with Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz injured, it felt clear his short-term future would lie there.
Indeed, when the teamsheets were submitted, the presumption was that Gakpo would line up on the left, with Harvey Elliott on the right and Mohamed Salah serving as the striker. Instead, for the third consecutive game, Gakpo led the line. When Darwin Nunez came on, the expectation was that the Uruguayan take over in the middle: instead Gakpo stayed there.
Perhaps Klopp hampered Gakpo on Saturday; despite his height, he is not a typical No. 9, he lacks the eviscerating pace Mudryk brings to scare defenders and while his versatility formed part of his appeal and he operated as one of two strikers in the World Cup, he was used almost exclusively on the left by Ruud van Nistelrooy at PSV Eindhoven.
If that initially seemed Klopp’s plan, Nunez’s injury, ruling him out of the previous two games, interrupted attempts to forge a new fearsome front three. Certainly Gakpo has had the misfortune to join when Liverpool have been troubled, injuries causing instability in selection; unlike most previous signings, he has neither had the benefit of a pre-season to adjust to new demands or a winning side to glide into.
His Premier League debut came in what Klopp called the worst performance he can remember, and it is harsh to blame a forward for all the failings behind him then.
Perhaps his start to life at Liverpool can be divided into two halves: two FA Cup ties against Wolves when, to use Potter’s phrase, there were promising signs, albeit no dramatic contribution, and two Premier League games, which offered little encouragement.
On social media, where overreactions abound, there were gloating United fans, desperate to write off Gakpo as a failure, and mentions of Peter Crouch from their Liverpool counterparts. Crouch’s wait for a first Liverpool goal spanned four months. He may have ended his Anfield career a qualified success but Liverpool’s plight meant they required an immediate impact from Gakpo.
They have tended to get it from attacking arrivals in the Klopp era.
Sadio Mane and Salah scored on hugely auspicious debuts. Jota struck eight minutes into his Premier League bow. Diaz’s first goal came in his fourth game but the first three were explosive enough to whet the appetite. At least, Gakpo may reflect, he avoided the pitfall Nunez fell into: after goals in the Community Shield and in his first cameo in the Premier League only to be sent off for a headbutt on his introduction to Anfield.
Roberto Firmino, the great exception in many elements, broke his duck in his 14th game, though many of those were under Brendan Rodgers. A trend of the Klopp years has been that while even some successful signings in other positions, such as Fabinho and Andy Robertson, have taken time to settle, forwards have tended to slot in seamlessly.
So far, and in more difficult circumstances, Gakpo has not. Virgil van Dijk had sounded protective when he asked for supporters to show patience with his Netherlands teammate. He has started to sound prescient, though.
Gakpo got 13 goals and 17 assists in less than half a season for PSV. He is yet to open either account for Liverpool, despite 12 shots. Hindered, perhaps, by his central role, he has created few chances; his only part in a goal entailed Wolves’ Toti failing to head clear and instead finding Salah. Lacking Nunez’s raw physicality, he is more reliant on chemistry. So far, there is insufficient.
And the last time he found the net, it was the World Cup group stages, he was the joint top scorer in the tournament and his managers were Louis van Gaal and Van Nistelrooy. It is less than eight weeks ago, but a very different time in his life. Go another eight weeks without a goal and still more patience would be needed. But by then Diaz and Jota should be fit again and Gakpo ought to have had a run on the left wing.
