Dutch football legend Wesley Sneijder has explained why Cody Gakpo is a “perfect” signing for Liverpool.
The Reds completed the capture of Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven at the start of the January transfer window. Liverpool agreed to pay the Eredivisie outfit an initial £37m, with add-ons taking the total deal to more than £40m.
Gakpo made his Liverpool debut in the 2-2 FA Cup draw with Wolves at Anfield the weekend. Now the 23-year-old could be in line to make his Premier League bow away to Brighton on Saturday.
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And ahead of that crucial match in the battle for the top four, one of his fellow countrymen has praised the ability of Liverpool’s new signing. Sneijder, who played for the likes of Ajax, Real Madrid and Inter Milan in his career, as well as winning 134 caps for the Netherlands, believes Gakpo is “perfect” for the English top flight.
“I think it’s different for a central striker than for someone like Gakpo who comes from the side,” Soccer News have quoted Sneijder saying on Veronica Offside. “That’s where the spaces are in England. I think it’s a perfect league for him.”
Sneijder’s view was not shared by Dutch pundit Wim Kieft. The former Ajax, PSV and Netherlands forward argued that Gakpo is likely to need time to adapt to English football.
“The big question is whether they can also do it in England where it goes five times faster. The advantage is that he did quite well at the World Cup,” said Kieft.
“(Steven ) Bergwijn failed in England, for example. Gakpo does exude power. Whether Antony is better given his transfer fee? That was just pure necessity, who cares. Antony is also just really struggling. You need a long time to keep up with the pace.
“Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn’t understand what was happening in England either, so that will take getting used to. And Liverpool have a lot of strikers.”
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