Cody Gakpo was acquired by Liverpool earlier in January, but not everyone agrees that they should have
According to a survey of Express Sport readers, Liverpool should have prioritized a midfielder above signing Cody Gakpo this month. Even though his team has struggled in the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp has stated the Reds won’t be adding players to the center of the park.
After playing 17 games, Liverpool, who was two victories away from a quadruple last season, is currently 16 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal. With just eight victories and five losses through 17 games—more than double what they managed in 38 games last season—team Klopp’s is in a battle for the top four.
Many have blamed Liverpool’s aging midfield, which this year has lost its energy and vigor. They were outplayed in a loss at Brentford the Monday before, then Wolves overwhelmed them in the FA Cup last Saturday.
In addition, 75.2% of respondents to a poll conducted by Express Sport readers, who received over 17,000 replies, said Liverpool should have acquired a midfielder rather than Gakpo. Only 24.8% of respondents disagreed.
At the beginning of the January transfer window, Gakpo arrived from PSV for a deal that would eventually reach £44 million. The left-handed attacker, who can also play center forward, joined the team after helping the Netherlands to three goals at the World Cup in Qatar.
The Dutchman made his league debut yesterday at Brighton after playing against Wolves in the FA Cup (Saturday). Although the long-term absences of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz are addressed by his signing, many Liverpool supporters believe that midfield is a position where the team is in dire need of improvement.
Since winning the Champions League in 2019, Liverpool has only permanently signed one senior central midfielder, Thiago Alcantara, who joined in the summer of 2020 for £25 million. Injuries have limited Arthur Melo to just 13 minutes of action since his summer loan from Juventus.
Along with the trio of out-of-contract midfielders Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner, Arthur is now one of four midfielders leaving this summer. With the words “I don’t think so,” Klopp ruled out additional January acquisitions on Friday. The circumstances are as they are. We must discuss it because you have asked me about it, but ultimately, all I have to do is use the boys I have.
“I enjoy the teams we line up (with), but when we start switching, you realize we don’t have three, four, or five choices up front, and if we do, they quickly become rather young. That’s OK, but given the circumstances, there are issues that cannot be resolved during the transfer window. I am aware that in a fantasy world, players are simply purchased and brought in, but I don’t see that happening.
“We cannot sort the difficulties as other teams are doing, and I know it produces headlines, but we do it our way, we really squeeze everything out. Simply put, you can’t solve the issues, particularly injuries, in the transfer window.
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