Former Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt has welcomed Cody Gakpo to Anfield and wished him "magic" with the Dutchman's move to the club having been confirmed.
The ex-PSV Eindhoven forward was announced as a Red earlier this month - Jurgen Klopp's men sealing a big-money swoop for his services. In becoming a Liverpool player, the 23-year-old has followed the footsteps of Kuyt in swapping the Eredivisie for the Premier League.
He has also been confirmed to be adopting the number 18 shirt during his time on Merseyside. Intriguingly, that is also a number that Kuyt sported during his five-year spell as a Liverpool player.
Taking to Instagram, the now 42-year-old issued his well-wishes to the Reds' recent arrival. He wrote: "Cody Gakpo, welcome to Liverpool. This number has brought me lots of magic, and I hope it will bring you the same kinda magic too. Congratulations and good luck."
Gakpo arrives on Merseyside with a stunning record this season having netted 13 goals and provided 17 assists in all competitions for PSV, whilst he also managed to net three goals during the World Cup in Qatar. He will certainly be hopeful of matching or even bettering Kuyt's achievements at Anfield.
The ex-forward netted 71 goals in 285 appearances for the Reds having arrived from Feyenoord back in 2006. His highlight though will arguably be the famous hat trick he scored against fierce rivals Manchester United back in 2011.
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It remains to be seen when Gakpo will make his first appearance for Liverpool with the Reds set to tackle Brentford just days into the transfer window, whilst an FA Cup tie against Wolves might be a good opportunity. Ahead of any potential debut, Klopp has waxed lyrical about the young forward’s abilities.
The German said: "There is a lot to like about Cody. He is still only 23 years old but he already has a lot of experience.
"He was the captain of PSV, he was the Player of the Year in Holland last season and, as a lot of people have just seen, he also had a great World Cup with his national team. So, it is clear that he is already a really, really good player but his age also means he also has the potential to become even better.
"Offensively, he is very versatile and on top of this we know he is a smart footballer and also a smart person, so we are really excited to be able to work with him."
Gakpo will certainly hope to be slightly more of a success than the last occupant of Liverpool’s number 18 shirt. Japanese forward Takumi Minamino previously owned the shirt and despite emerging as a cult hero at Anfield, was unable to forge himself a real role in the first team before a move to French side Monaco.
