Jurgen Klopp has singled out Cody Gakpo's long-range shooting as one factor in deciding to bring him to Anfield - a big hint on what he can offer for his new club.
Gakpo was confirmed as a Liverpool player on Wednesday, putting pen to paper on a five-and-a-half-year deal after swift and decisive action was taken by the club to beat rival parties. While the official fee has not been revealed, the ECHO understands PSV Eindhoven will receive in the region of £40million.
The 23-year-old shone on the world stage with three goals for the Netherlands to add to an outstanding nine goals and 12 assists in 14 Eredivisie matches for PSV. But rather than just the number of goals, a brief hint from Klopp this evening suggests it is the type of goal that Gakpo can score which caught Liverpool's attention.
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"Yeah for sure [the deal was brought forward because of injuries] but we’ve been interested in Cody for a long time, for a while," Klopp told Sky Sports ahead of last night's 2-1 win against Leicester City.
"You know our situation, we can’t pick players up on top, on top and stuff like this. We have to collect money then spend a little bit then we collect again.
"Cody is a very interesting player, he came through the Eindhoven academy and is well respected and loved [there] so we think it’s the right moment to bring him in. He can develop but the things he offers helps us massively both in the moment and long term as well.
"He can play all four positions and it’s very rare. He has the size, physicality, shoots outside the box and has a good nose for situations, speed, good dribbler so all these things to be excited about. It’s not the final thing yet but players usually develop well when they’re with us and that’s what we think as a basis is really good."
It is the shots from outside the box that is likely to answer the questions as to what Gakpo can offer, with the Reds lacking an obvious threat from distance. As per Liverpool.com, the forward has scored four of his last 16 goals from outside the penalty area, with 42.6 per cent of his last 75 shots coming from 18-yards or further out.
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