Supervisor Juergen Klopp heaped reward on new signing Cody Gakpo’s potential, including that the Premier League membership had acquired their timing excellent to safe the signature of the extremely sought-after Dutch ahead.
Gakpo, who scored three targets for the Netherlands on the World Cup, joined Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday for a reported preliminary price of 37 million kilos ($44.57 million). British media reported Manchester United have been additionally chasing the 23-year-old earlier than Liverpool sealed the deal.
Cody Gapko is a RED! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/D4nHxgB5Yr
— Liverpool FC Information (@LivEchoLFC) December 28, 2022
“He’s a extremely good participant so the bundle is attention-grabbing,” Klopp instructed reporters forward of Friday’s recreation towards Leicester Metropolis. “Large for him. Large for us. Nice day…
“He’s a younger participant with a whole lot of potential. If he had been in a special place, scoring 40 targets, not in Holland however perhaps in Spain, he would have been unaffordable. In these items, it’s about timing and getting gamers in on the proper second, once they haven’t scored 55 targets a season.
“We have been following him, and he at all times stored making the subsequent steps. We imagine in our course of, when offensive gamers come right here, all of them make a step ahead due to the way in which we work and may also help them.”
Following his transfer to Anfield, Gakpo mentioned he had been persuaded to hitch after talking with Netherlands and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
“It was a house run (the negotiations),” Klopp mentioned. “We didn’t want Virgil to persuade him however he likes to be concerned in these items!”
Klopp mentioned there have been no new accidents in his squad, however instructed that the injured duo of James Milner and Roberto Firmino, who missed this week’s win over Aston Villa, wouldn’t get well in time to face Leicester. He added that France defender Ibrahima Konate, who performed within the World Cup last defeat to Argentina, had returned to coaching and is out there for choice.
Liverpool, who’re sixth within the league with 25 factors from 15 matches, face a Leicester crew that have been outclassed by Newcastle in a 3-0 defeat on Monday, and Klopp mentioned he expects a response from Brendan Rodgers’ facet.
“They may change their system which makes it harder,” Klopp mentioned. “However we have now to push via what we wish to do — it’s been a very long time since we performed at residence.”