Liverpool unleashed new Roberto Firmino after beating Manchester United to surprise transfer

It seems a little counter-intuitive to suggest a player who could end up costing £44million may ultimately save Liverpool a fortune in the transfer market.

But, as Liverpool supporters discovered during the second half of the campaign, Cody Gakpo has an uncanny ability of confounding expectations.

Eyebrows were raised when, within hours of the Reds securing a Boxing Day win at Aston Villa on the resumption of the Premier League campaign following the World Cup, it emerged one of the sleeper hits of the tournament was about to arrive from PSV Eindhoven.

Having witnessed the forward in action for Holland in Qatar, there was no doubting the quality and potential of Gakpo. And as with Luis Diaz 12 months earlier, Liverpool had shown themselves not averse to snapping up targets who were attracting strong attention from Premier League rivals, in this case Manchester United.

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But with Jurgen Klopp clearly desperate for midfield reinforcement, it seemed to some a little unusual – and for a select few, a sizeable misjudgement – to splash such cash on an attacking player given the options already within the Reds squad.

True, two of them – Diaz and Diogo Jota – were injured for the foreseeable. And there was continued doubt over the long-term future of Roberto Firmino, who was temporarily sidelined and eventually chose to leave Anfield when his contract expires at the end of the month.

But if Gakpo had been brought in to ease the pressure on the forward line given the two extended absentees, it is as a long-term replacement for Firmino that he proved himself more than capable over the past six months.

Mind you, the 24-year-old would have been forgiven for wondering what he had let himself in for as he stepped into a horribly misfiring Liverpool team, his Premier League debut seeing him play up front alongside Mohamed Salah in the dismal 3-0 defeat at Brighton in January.

Gakpo had made his Liverpool bow the previous week playing on the left in the FA Cup third round draw at home to Wolves, a position where he had operated with distinction for much of his PSV career. But, aside from another wide role in the league defeat at Wolves a few weeks later and a one-game stint in midfield against Brentford late in the season, he was employed down the middle, nudging summer signing Darwin Nunez to the left flank or out of the team altogether.

A first goal came in the derby win over Everton at Anfield, with other strikes at Newcastle United, Leeds United, West Ham United and Southampton showing he can prosper on the road. But it was his home double in the 7-0 romp against former suitors Manchester United that truly demonstrated his potential. There was also an assist at Leeds and two at home to Tottenham Hotspur.

And it was his ability to press high and bring team-mates into the game while also dropping deeper to help the midfield and run at opposing defences that echoed the outgoing Firmino and provided an answer to a question Klopp had struggled to properly answer in recent years – how best to succeed the Brazilian.

Another positive was Gakpo being available and featuring in each of the 26 games for which he was eligible since arriving, pointing to a durability that isn’t prevalent throughout the Liverpool front line.

With a full pre-season under his belt, the Dutchman offers reason for genuine excitement among Reds supporters next term. Klopp’s new attacking spearhead has finally arrived.

Season rating: 8/10.

Alisson Becker rating

Trent Alexander-Arnold rating

Ibrahima Konate rating

Darwin Nunez rating

Virgil van Dijk rating

Andy Robertson rating

Fabinho rating

Mohamed Salah rating

Luis Diaz rating

Diogo Jota rating

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