Arne Slot has already confirmed that he has a plan for Cody Gakpo at Liverpool, though the Dutch head coach refused to explain to publicly what that might be. First, a conversation will be had with the 25-year-old attacker.
While away for the European Championship, where he has been hugely impressive for the Netherlands on the left flank, the player himself has admitted that Jurgen Klopp didn’t play him in his favored role.
“I will play on the left wing at this tournament,” Gakpo said ahead of facing England in the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
“I also played a lot as a striker at Liverpool.”
“I have always been a left winger so that’s always been my preference,” he added.
“But in the last one and a half years, the coach needed me to play somewhere else and that’s what I tried to do at my best.”
Slot revealed that he has a plan for both Gakpo and Trent Alexander-Arnold during his first press conference.
“I don’t have an opinion about what their best positions would be with their countries,” the Dutchman said.
“Because that always depends on the players you have as well.
“You cannot judge a player on his own, it’s always a team effort. But I do have my opinion about where they’re going to play here. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to talk to them about that first and work with them first before telling it here.”
“I am hoping he (Gakpo) will step up even more. We are hoping and expecting him to do even better,” Slot continued.
“He has been impressive and had a good tournament so far. We’ve inherited a good team. With the way I look at football, I can see how important it is to work on a daily basis.”
