Cody Gakpo: Liverpool star making a case Arne Slot cannot ignore | OneFootball

For the second time in a week, Liverpool are preparing to face Brighton and one man who will be eyeing up another start is Cody Gakpo.

The Dutchman netted Liverpool’s first two goals in a 3-2 EFL Cup win at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday, booking his place in the quarter-finals.

Gakpo’s brace extended his record in cup and continental competitions this season to four goals and an assist in five appearances, four of which have come from the start.

However, it’s a very different story for Gakpo in the Premier League, where just two of his nine appearances have come from the start, playing just 300 of a possible 810 minutes. That will likely make Slot’s post-match comments about Gakpo being a ‘regular starter’ sting just a little bit more.

“For me, he is a regular starter,” Slot insisted. “He is not starting every game but he has started on a regular basis and he is in a tough competition with Luis Diaz, who, in the moment he went on the left, also scored a goal. So, that’s normal: if you play at a club like Liverpool you have got two quality players for many positions.”

Slot added: “If you look at the way Joe Gomez played and also Jarell Quansah – who was maybe a bit unlucky with the goal we conceded because the overall performance I liked from them both as well – they are in competition with Virgil [van Dijk] and Ibou [Konate]. So that’s what you have when you play at Liverpool, but for me, Cody has been a regular starter this season.”

Gakpo’s record in the cups must surely be hard to ignore for Slot at this point. Indeed, his limited minutes in the Premier League mean he’s yet to score and has just one assist, but a quick dig into the stats shows just how effective he is when he’s on the field.

For example, Gakpo is first among Liverpool players — excluding Wataru Endo who has played just three minutes — for chances created per 90 minutes (2.7), a total that leaves him 0.68 clear of his nearest rival, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Gakpo is also second only to Luis Diaz (2.17) for successful dribbles per 90 (2.1), and first among players with 75+ minutes played for touches in the attacking third per 90 (27.6).

None of this is to say the players currently starting ahead of Gakpo are playing poorly. Quite the opposite, in fact, with Luis Diaz on the left sitting on five goals and two assists, while through the middle, Diogo Jota has two goals and two assists in 497 minutes, while Darwin Nunez has a goal and assist in 284 minutes.

But Gakpo was famously one of the players touted to be a big winner of the Slot era due to their shared Dutch heritage. In the Premier League that is yet to take root but it’s hard to imagine Slot dropping a player who just scored a brace for a match against the same opponent, in the same week.

Given his popularity at Anfield, supporters will be hoping that should he get the nod, the Netherlands international will make the most of his Premier League opportunity and become the menacing, nailed-on starting forward his talent suggests he is.