It’s official: Liverpool getting €40m star back under Andoni Iraola

Liverpool are getting their €40m star back under Andoni Iraola. We can't wait.

Liverpool were pretty awful across the board last season. The football was drab, every player was below par, and only a flurry of late winners to kick off the campaign saw the Reds qualify for Europe.

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But despite all the struggles, no player had it worse than Cody Gakpo. The Dutchman became the poster boy for failure under Arne Slot, taking the brunt of criticism for poor performances.

Now, a lot of that is simply because Gakpo isn't a particularly flashy player. When he's playing poorly, it looks very bad as he lacks ideas and becomes very isolated.

That's not actually who Gakpo is, though. He's really a player who can make things happen as long as he's in an environment to thrive.

The winger isn't someone to dig you out of a hole, no, but he is a player who can win you matches and find important moments. That's something we saw in the title-winning campaign as Gakpo scored 18 times across all competitions.

And fuelling the theory that last season was actually just a team issue and not a problem with Gakpo is what we're seeing at the World Cup. He's starting for the Netherlands and putting up impressive displays.

He was dangerous against Japan, constantly attacking his defender and playing a big part in attacks. But it was the crunch tie against Sweden where he truly came alive.

Gakpo scored twice and assisted the opener. He hit the target with every shot and was, quite honestly, the best player on the pitch in a massive game.

This is the player Liverpool bought for €40m back in 2023. One who knows how to provide the big moments when they come to him and we're seeing now why it was so important that Liverpool changed head coach.

The environment under Slot wasn't helping Gakpo (or anyone, for that matter). But the right team brings out a special player here and this is who Liverpool will welcome back next season.

A confident, flowing Gakpo is a dangerous player and we fully expect him to have a great role under Iraola.