Jurgen Klopp is no longer the manager of Liverpool, as the Reds are embarking upon a new era with Arne Slot leading one of the most prestigious clubs in European football.
In his last season as Liverpool manager, Klopp brought the Reds back to Premier League title contention, though the team ultimately came up short to Manchester City and Arsenal.
Mohamed Salah was still one of the best players in the Premier League – if not THE best – but the rest of the Liverpool attack disappointed.
Darwin Nunez made headlines for high-profile misses, Luis Diaz seemed to take a step back in an inconsistent season without sufficient goals, and Cody Gakpo was on the periphery with more appearances off the bench than starts.
But when looking at their performances for their countries this summer, Gakpo and Diaz are making a strong case that Liverpool don’t actually need to sign a new left winger – let alone directly replace Diaz.
In fact, Gakpo and Diaz have been so brilliant that there’s a sense Jurgen Klopp slipped and didn’t get the most out of two of Liverpool’s most talented footballers.
Shining on the international stage is nothing new to Diaz, who was beyond brilliant as a breakout star at the previous Copa America in 2020; the only puzzling thing is that Liverpool or another elite European club didn’t sign the Colombian that summer instead of waiting until the winter window.
Diaz has been similarly unstoppable on the ball this summer, averaging 1.7 key passes with a stunning 4.3 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game as Colombia’s clear inspiration.
But while Diaz has been excellent again for Colombia, Gakpo’s breakout performances for the Netherlands at Euro 2024 have been a little more surprising and even more impressive.
Gakpo was a standout for PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie, but dominating that league is hardly worth writing home about. Antony and Sebastien Haller, for example, were awesome for Ajax but have been far less impressive for Manchester United and Dortmund, respectively.
So fans could be forgiven for wondering just how good Gakpo truly is, especially since Liverpool had yet to ascertain the Dutchman’s best position.
Fortunately for Liverpool – and perhaps unfortunately for Diaz – the Reds have their answer that Gakpo is quite the player on the left wing.
Gakpo has been arguably the best player of the entire Euro 2024 tournament thus far, knifing through defenses, creating chances, and stepping up to the plate with vital goals for the Oranje.
He has been doing exactly what he did for PSV before joining Liverpool, albeit he is doing it now on a much bigger stage at the European Championships.
The 25-year-old forward has scored three goals with one assist in four appearances, averaging nearly three chances created per game and more than three combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per match.
Gakpo has been dominant as a scorer and playmaker, showing the kind of end product Liverpool have been craving across from Salah.
It looks like Liverpool do indeed have two top-class left wing options in Diaz and Gakpo, with the former causing chaos with his dribbling and the latter making a difference directly on the final score.
Klopp may have struck out on maximizing both forwards as they are in their primes, but Slot will now have the task of getting these two talented ballers to shine alongside Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai.
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