Cody Gakpo's Role Shift at Liverpool Amid World Cup Success

Cody Gakpo walked off the pitch in Dutch orange with two more World Cup goals to his name and a question hanging in the air about Liverpool.

How different did his role for the Netherlands feel compared with life under Arne Slot at Anfield?

“A good question. Obviously it's a little bit different,” he said. “It's different where the coach wants me to be, the freedom that I have.” Then he stopped himself, mid-thought, before the comparison went any further.

That pause said plenty.

A left wing suddenly crowded

Gakpo’s latest international flourish arrived in a week when Liverpool moved decisively in his area of the pitch.

Victor Munoz has signed from Osasuna for £34.5m, another left-sided winger with the pace and directness to attack full-backs. At the same time, Liverpool are pushing hard for Yan Diomande, the 19-year-old RB Leipzig forward who can play on either flank, in a package worth £86m.

Two potential arrivals who both like the zones Gakpo calls home.

The question is obvious: what does this all mean for a 27-year-old who, not long ago, looked a central pillar of Liverpool’s new era?

From title catalyst to searching for rhythm

Under Slot in the 2024-25 title-winning campaign, Gakpo delivered. Eighteen goals, seven assists, 49 games in all competitions. He moved intelligently, linked play, and finished with the kind of composure that persuaded Liverpool to hand him a long-term contract last summer. He was delighted to sign it.

Then came last season.

Three more appearances, but the numbers dipped: nine goals, six assists. Liverpool’s attack laboured, the whole side struggled for fluency, and Gakpo was far from the only one below his best. Yet he will know that those figures, in that role, are not enough if he wants to remain untouchable in the pecking order.

His preference is clear. He sees himself on the left, driving infield, opening the pitch. But 2025-26 exposed a flaw: his relationship with Milos Kerkez down that flank often misfired. Kerkez’s overlapping runs were there; the timing and use of them were not always sharp.

The understanding did improve as the season wore on. Now Kerkez is back with Andoni Iraola, his former manager at Bournemouth, and the expectation is that the Hungary left-back will kick on again. A more dynamic, confident Kerkez, combining with a more ruthless Gakpo, could transform that side of Liverpool’s attack.

That scenario suits Gakpo. If he’s still there to enjoy it.

A proven scorer with a shifting role

Strip away the noise and the numbers still carry weight. Fifty goals in 180 appearances for Liverpool. Only Dirk Kuyt among Dutchmen has reached a half-century for the club. When fit, Gakpo has usually been first choice somewhere across the front line.

Inside Anfield, he is still viewed as a proven Premier League attacker, adaptable and tactically intelligent. With Hugo Ekitike potentially sidelined until 2027 by a ruptured Achilles, Gakpo’s ability to operate centrally as well as from the left offers Iraola crucial flexibility.

Yet the attack is being rebuilt on the fly.

Mohamed Salah has gone. At least one more forward is expected to arrive before the window closes, and the chase for Diomande is intensifying. Behind them, Rio Ngumoha is being primed for a bigger role, a teenager whose fearlessness has caught the eye of Liverpool’s staff.

Florian Wirtz complicates the picture further. Used off the left at times last season and now operating there for Germany at the World Cup, he gives Iraola another option in Gakpo’s preferred territory. How the new head coach defines Wirtz’s best position could have a direct impact on Gakpo’s place in the blueprint.

If Wirtz is a left-sided creator, Gakpo’s margin for error narrows. If Wirtz is seen more centrally or to the right, Gakpo’s path looks clearer.

Competition, or crossroads?

Gakpo has lived with pressure before. When Luis Diaz arrived, many wondered if the Dutchman would be squeezed out. Instead, the extra competition sharpened him. He responded.

This summer feels different. For the first time since he arrived from PSV Eindhoven in December 2022, a departure is at least on the table. Several clubs are monitoring his situation, with Tottenham Hotspur among those keeping a close eye.

Liverpool would not let him go cheaply. Any move would likely start north of £60m, a significant profit on the initial £35m they paid after his breakout at the 2022 World Cup. In a market where proven wide forwards are scarce, that valuation is not fanciful.

His performance against Sweden only strengthened his case. While Liverpool team-mate Alexander Isak failed to score in a 5-1 defeat, Gakpo struck twice. One a back-post tap-in, arriving at exactly the right moment. The other classic Gakpo: cut in from the left, shift, drill a right-footed shot with conviction.

It was a reminder of why clubs are circling – and why Liverpool might think twice before cashing in.

A leader in orange

Around the Dutch camp, there is talk of a tight, unified squad. After a bruising domestic season, Gakpo has started this tournament with clarity and purpose.

His World Cup record is outstanding: five goals in seven games across the 2022 and current tournaments. In total, he has 23 goals in 52 caps since his debut five years ago, numbers that underline his consistency at the highest level.

His influence goes beyond the pitch. Within the Netherlands squad, he has become a spiritual anchor.

“Cody is our pastor – he leads the prayers,” Crysencio Summerville explained.

On the field, Virgil van Dijk sees the same authority.

“He is an outstanding footballer,” the Netherlands and Liverpool captain said after the Sweden win. “He works so hard for the team, he's disciplined and his quality stands out – his crosses, his assists, his goals.”

That is the version of Gakpo Liverpool want: the one who dominates in big games, who leads, who produces.

Liverpool’s gamble

Every strong World Cup performance nudges the equation in a new direction.

Play like this all summer and Liverpool’s desire to keep him for at least another season will grow. At the same time, his price climbs, and the temptation to reshape the squad with a major sale increases. It is the classic modern dilemma.

The experiences of Isak and Wirtz in their first campaigns at Anfield offer a warning. Both arrived with hype, both struggled to impose themselves immediately. The Premier League, the expectations, the tactical demands under a new coach – it all takes time.

That is where Gakpo’s value lies. He knows the club, the league, the pressure. He can play left, he can play centrally, he can carry responsibility. In a forward line being retooled by Iraola and the recruitment team after a stuttering season, that kind of reliability is rare.

Liverpool must now decide whether to double down on that certainty or cash in at what might be the peak of his market.

For the moment, Gakpo’s mind is elsewhere, fixed on the World Cup and his role in a Dutch side with serious ambitions. When the tournament ends, the conversation will return to Anfield.

By then, will he be the cornerstone of Iraola’s new attack, or the big sale that funds it?