Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool have a ready-made heir for Roberto Firmino in January signing Cody Gakpo following his eye-catching display against Everton.
The Dutchman, who joined the Reds in a deal worth a potential £44m from PSV Eindhoven last month, scored his first goal for the Reds during Monday's 2-0 victory in the Merseyside derby.
Arriving at the back post to tap home Trent Alexander-Arnold's low-driven cross, Gakpo doubled Liverpool's lead after Mohamed Salah had opened the scoring eight minutes before the interval.
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The 23-year-old's maiden strike for the Reds, which came after 49 minutes, sparked a fine second half performance, with the former Eindhoven captain a constant threat to Jordan Pickford's goal as Liverpool looked to rubber stamp their first Anfield victory in almost six weeks with a crowning third goal.
Having mainly operated on the left-hand side of attack during his time in Holland, Gakpo has featured as a central figure of Liverpool's attack in the absence of Firmino, who has been sidelined with injury in recent weeks.
And speaking after Monday night's victory at Anfield, Carragher lauded the forward's skillset and thinks he could present manager Jurgen Klopp with a seamless transition to life after Firmino, whose contract expires on July 1 and is yet to agree on a new deal at Anfield.
"I think it’s interesting in the role of Nunez and Gakpo because Nunez has been brought as a centre forward and Gakpo has played most of his games on the left side of a front three but when you actually think of how Liverpool have played with that famous front three for so many years," said the former defender Reds defender who played 737. "It’s been Firmino dropping in and the wide players have had the penetration and the pace.
“I just think actually watching Gakpo, it feels like his profile is more similar to Firmino than the other wide players who have blistering pace to run in behind."
He added: "Could it actually be what we’ve seen tonight where Nunez finds himself on the left a lot more and Gakpo actually plays in that hole? His main strength, when I’ve watched him in these first few weeks, is actually with the ball. When the ball comes into his feet, you don’t feel like he’s going to lose it.”
Nunez, too, caught the eye during the 242nd meeting between the residents on either side of Stanley Park as his bullish and direct approach on the left-hand side of the attack helped orchestrate a fine opening goal for Salah and ensured Blues full-back Seamus Coleman had an evening to forget.
Liverpool were also boosted by the return of Diogo Jota, who replaced the Uruguayan in the closing stages of the contest, having missed four months of action after injuring his calf against Manchester City in October. While Luiz Diaz is pencilled in for a return towards the end of next month.
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