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Rafael van der Vaart blames Jurgen Klopp for Cody Gakpo's slow start at Liverpool
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been blamed for Cody Gakpo's form.
Rafael van der Vaart has pointed the finger at Jurgen Klopp for Cody Gakpo's slow start at Liverpool. The forward finally scored his first goal for the Reds in Monday's Merseyside derby win over Everton.
Gakpo joined Liverpool at the beginning of the January transfer window after an impressive first half of the campaign for club and country. However, it took until his seventh appearance for him to register either a goal or an assist.
The 23-year-old played the majority of his time at PSV Eindhoven as a left-sided attacker. He also impressed in that role at the World Cup in Qatar.
But he has been used sparingly in that position since moving to Anfield. Klopp has played Gakpo in a central striker role on a number of occasions but former Netherlands international Van der Vaart says that is the reason behind his quiet start in England.
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Jurgen Klopp speaks about Cody Gakpo joining Liverpool
Van der Vaart exclusively told Ladbrokes: Fanzone: "The biggest surprise for me wasn't that Liverpool bought Cody Gakpo last month. Look, if you have the sort of tournament he did in Qatar, you're going to attract interest from a lot of top clubs.
"But, for me, they've signed a player who has played his whole career as a left-winger, and in the national team he's played as a number 10, a second striker... and now he's playing as a striker? He's not a striker!
"Cody needs space to play in, he needs to run with the ball, that's where he's most dangerous. That's the biggest issue he has at Liverpool, why are they playing him as a number nine? He's a left-winger who can cut inside and cause danger there."
Gakpo has played centrally in the absence of Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota, who both returned from injury as substitutes against Everton. Klopp has always wanted his striker to be the first line of defence and he recently explained how Gakpo fills that role.
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The German said: "His defending is outstanding. Now you will say we bought a striker and talk about defending, but the defending in this position is outstanding.
"This central position, that’s really what we need. Everybody in this team is used to that when the ball goes wide and goes inside to the No 6 that there is somebody around.
"He’s good on the ball; you can see in his finishing, he’s a sensational finisher; his shooting from distance, outstanding."
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