Cody Gakpo's Role with Netherlands vs Liverpool: A Balancing Act

Cody Gakpo stood in the mixed zone with two goals to his name and a microphone under his chin, and the question he knew was coming finally arrived.

How does your role for the Netherlands compare to Liverpool?

“A good question. Obviously it’s a little bit different,” he replied. “It’s different where the coach wants me to be, the freedom that I have.”

Then he stopped himself. No elaboration. No criticism. Just a pause that said enough.

Because while Gakpo is gliding through this World Cup in Oranje, Liverpool are quietly redrawing the map of their attack.

A left side getting crowded

The timing is impossible to ignore. In the same week Gakpo took his World Cup tally to five goals in seven games, Liverpool committed £34.5m to Victor Munoz from Osasuna, another winger who prefers to start on the left.

They are also deep in talks over a package worth £86m for RB Leipzig’s 19-year-old forward Yan Diomande, a highly rated talent who can operate on either flank.

Two potential signings. Both comfortable in Gakpo’s corridor of the pitch.

It raises an obvious question: where does that leave a 27-year-old who, not long ago, looked like a pillar of Liverpool’s next great side?

From title catalyst to question mark

Under Arne Slot in the 2024-25 title-winning campaign, Gakpo delivered exactly what Liverpool thought they were buying from PSV Eindhoven.

• Eighteen goals.
• Seven assists.
• Forty-nine games in all competitions.

Numbers that justified the long-term deal he signed last summer and underlined his value as a modern, multi-functional forward.

Then came last season.

Three more appearances, but only nine goals and six assists. A drop-off that mirrored a team that lost its sharpness and rhythm. Gakpo was not alone in underperforming, yet he will know those figures are not enough for a first-choice forward at Anfield.

He still prefers that left-sided role, drifting infield to combine and finish, but 2025-26 exposed a problem: his connection with Milos Kerkez down that flank often misfired. The Hungarian full-back loves to surge beyond his winger; Gakpo did not always find him early or often enough.

Their understanding did improve as the season wore on. Now Kerkez is back under Andoni Iraola, his old Bournemouth manager, and Liverpool expect the 20-year-old to kick on again.

If Kerkez accelerates, Gakpo has a natural partner. If he doesn’t, the left side remains a work in progress.

A proven scorer, a shifting landscape

Strip away the noise and one fact stands out. With 50 goals in 180 appearances, Gakpo is only the second Dutchman after Dirk Kuyt to hit a half-century for Liverpool.

When fit, he has usually been first choice. The club still regard him as a proven Premier League attacker who can play wide or centrally, a valuable trait when Hugo Ekitike could be sidelined until 2027 with a ruptured Achilles.

That versatility matters to Iraola. The new head coach wants fluidity, pressing, runners attacking space. Gakpo can offer all of that from the left or as a central option.

But the Salah-sized hole on the right has forced Liverpool into the market again. At least one more attacking signing is expected this summer, and the Diomande pursuit is gathering pace.

Teenager Rio Ngumoha is set for a bigger role. Florian Wirtz, who often played off the left last season and is doing the same for Germany at this World Cup, is another piece of the puzzle. Where Iraola ultimately sees Wirtz – as a left-sided creator, a No 10, or something in between – could shape Gakpo’s future more than any transfer fee.

If Wirtz becomes the preferred left-sided option, Gakpo’s path narrows. If Wirtz is moved centrally, Gakpo’s role expands.

Competition or crossroads?

Gakpo has been here before. When Luis Diaz arrived, the Dutchman responded to the increased competition by elevating his own game. There is a world where the arrivals of Munoz and possibly Diomande sharpen him again, pushing him back towards the numbers of that title-winning season.

There is another where they crowd him out.

For the first time since he joined in December 2022 for an initial £35m, a departure no longer feels unthinkable. Several clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, are monitoring his situation. Any deal would likely start north of £60m, a significant profit and a tempting figure for a club reshaping its squad.

Liverpool, though, also have the scars of transition. Isak and Wirtz both laboured through their debut campaigns at Anfield, reminders that even elite talents often need time to adapt. That reality makes the idea of cashing in on a proven performer slightly more complicated.

Oranje reminder

Against Sweden, Gakpo offered the perfect reminder of what he brings when the pieces around him fit.

The first goal was all about timing, ghosting to the back post for a simple tap-in. The second was pure Gakpo: cutting in from the left, opening his body, and drilling a right-footed shot into the corner.

Five goals in seven World Cup matches. Twenty-three in 52 caps for the Netherlands since his debut five years ago. Those are elite international numbers.

Inside the Dutch camp, he is more than just a goalscorer. Crysencio Summerville calls him “our pastor” – the man who leads prayers and supports fellow Christians in the squad. On the pitch, Virgil van Dijk is already convinced.

“He is an outstanding footballer,” the Netherlands and Liverpool captain said after the 5-1 win over Sweden. “He works so hard for the team, he’s disciplined and his quality stands out – his crosses, his assists, his goals.”

For now, Gakpo’s attention is fixed on the World Cup and Oranje’s ambitions. But every goal he scores on the biggest stage strengthens his hand back at Anfield.

Does it harden Liverpool’s resolve to keep him at the heart of Iraola’s plans for at least another season? Or does it inflate his price to a point where a sale becomes too attractive to ignore?

As Liverpool’s recruitment team pull apart and rebuild an attack that stuttered last year, Gakpo sits right at the fault line – the player who could yet be the cornerstone of the new era, or the sale that funds it.