Cody Gakpo's Role for Netherlands vs. Liverpool: A Comparison
Cody Gakpo walked off the pitch with two more World Cup goals to his name and a question hanging in the air.
How does his role for the Netherlands compare with the one he fills at Liverpool?
“A good question. Obviously it's a little bit different,” he said after the 5-1 dismantling of Sweden, pausing just long enough to hint at more. “It's different where the coach wants me to be, the freedom that I have.” Then he stopped himself.
The contrast is becoming harder to ignore. For his country, he cuts in from the left, decisive and liberated. For his club, the picture is starting to look more crowded.
A left side filling up fast
Gakpo’s brace for the Netherlands landed in the same week Liverpool pushed hard into the market for wide forwards.
Victor Munoz has arrived from Osasuna for £34.5m, another winger whose natural habitat is that left channel. Liverpool have also made it clear they are willing to put together an £86m package for RB Leipzig’s 19-year-old Yan Diomande, a highly rated forward comfortable on either flank.
Two signings, both able to occupy the zone Gakpo prefers. The question is obvious: what does that mean for the 27-year-old’s future at Anfield?
On paper, he should be central to it. In Arne Slot’s title-winning 2024-25 campaign, Gakpo delivered 18 goals and seven assists in 49 games across all competitions. Those numbers underpinned the long-term contract he signed last summer, a deal he was said to be delighted with.
Then came last season. Three more appearances, but a sharp drop: nine goals, six assists. He was far from alone in underperforming during a stuttering year, yet he will know those figures do not match his own standards or Liverpool’s.
Still first choice – but for how long?
Gakpo has always been clear: he sees himself on the left. The 2025-26 season underlined both the potential and the problems of that preference.
His relationship with Milos Kerkez down that flank took time to develop. Too often, Liverpool failed to fully exploit the Hungarian full-back’s aggressive overlapping runs. The patterns were there, but the timing and understanding were off. As the season wore on, the pair started to click, hinting at a more dangerous partnership.
Now Kerkez is working again with his former Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, and expectations around the left-back’s development have risen. A sharper, more confident Kerkez could be exactly what Gakpo needs: a full-back who drags defenders away and gives him the space to drive inside, where he is at his most ruthless.
Despite the tactical tweaks and the dips in form, Gakpo’s status at Liverpool remains significant. With 50 goals in 180 appearances, he is only the second Dutchman after Dirk Kuyt to reach a half-century for the club. When fit, he has usually been first choice.
Inside Anfield, they still see a proven Premier League attacker who can be used in multiple roles. That flexibility matters. With Hugo Ekitike facing a lengthy absence, potentially until 2027, after rupturing his Achilles, Gakpo’s ability to operate centrally offers Iraola valuable cover and options.
A reshaped attack and a rising threat
The rebuild of Liverpool’s forward line is not finished. Mohamed Salah has gone, and at least one more attacking signing is expected this summer. Diomande remains a live target. Talented teenager Rio Ngumoha is on the verge of a more prominent role. Florian Wirtz, who often drifted in from the left for Liverpool last season, is playing there again for Germany at this World Cup.
How Iraola chooses to use Wirtz may be the hinge on which Gakpo’s Liverpool future swings. If the German becomes the preferred option off that flank, Gakpo could find himself nudged infield more often – or nudged towards the exit.
He has lived this kind of pressure before. When Luis Diaz arrived, many wondered whether Gakpo would be squeezed out. Instead, the competition seemed to sharpen him. There is a world in which the arrivals of Munoz and possibly Diomande do the same.
There is also, for the first time since he joined from PSV Eindhoven in December 2022, a credible scenario in which he leaves.
Several clubs are monitoring his situation, with Tottenham Hotspur among those keeping a close eye. Liverpool would demand upwards of £60m, a substantial profit on the initial £35m they paid after his breakout World Cup in 2022. That kind of fee, at that age, for a versatile forward with his record, would tempt many.
World Cup Cody, again
If anyone needed reminding why Gakpo commands such interest, Sweden provided the stage.
His first goal was all about timing and instinct, a simple finish at the back post after arriving exactly when the defence switched off. The second was pure Gakpo: drifting in from the left, shaping the defender, then drilling a right-footed shot into the corner. Predictable in idea, unstoppable in execution.
His World Cup record now stands at five goals in seven games across the 2022 and current tournaments. In total, he has 23 goals in 52 caps for the Netherlands since his debut five years ago. Those are elite international numbers.
Around the Dutch camp, they speak of a tight, unified group. Gakpo’s influence is not limited to the pitch. He plays a key role off it, especially among the Christians in the squad.
“Cody is our pastor – he leads the prayers,” said Crysencio Summerville.
On the field, there is no debate in the mind of Virgil van Dijk, who captains both the Netherlands and Liverpool.
“He is an outstanding footballer,” Van Dijk said after the win over Sweden. “He works so hard for the team, he's disciplined and his quality stands out – his crosses, his assists, his goals.”
Right now, Gakpo’s focus is entirely on the national team. He is leading from the front, again, just as Liverpool weigh up what comes next.
The conundrum Iraola must solve
Liverpool’s recruitment team, working alongside Iraola, is reshaping an attack that laboured too often last season. They know how hard it can be for new arrivals to hit the ground running. The early struggles of Alexander Isak and Wirtz in their debut campaigns at Anfield are fresh reminders that talent alone does not guarantee instant impact.
That reality strengthens the case for keeping Gakpo. He knows the league, the club, the demands. He has delivered in a title-winning season. He can play left, he can play central, he can score on the biggest stages.
At the same time, the squad is being tilted towards youth, pace and positional fluidity. Places will be fought for, not handed out. If Diomande arrives, if Ngumoha steps up, if Wirtz is locked into a role off the left, the margins for error narrow.
So Gakpo finds himself in a curious position: central to his country’s plans, yet potentially on the edge of a reshaped Liverpool front line.
Continue to dominate this World Cup, and he makes a powerful case to remain the reference point in Iraola’s new-look attack. Falter, and the idea of cashing in on a £60m-plus asset begins to look more attractive.
Somewhere between the freedom he feels in orange and the structure he must adapt to in red lies the answer to the Gakpo question. And as Liverpool’s summer gathers pace, that answer will help define what their next era in attack really looks like.
