Liverpool ace Gakpo names ex-Stoke star as the player he's always wanted to be
It was no surprise to see Cody Gakpo back out training with Liverpool on Thursday, as he declared himself fit to play this weekend.
After all, it was the Merseyside derby - and the same fixture as this Saturday - where he announced himself to the Kop at Anfield soon after signing in the January 2023 transfer window, scoring his first goal for the Reds following a £37m transfer.
The Holland international forward may have to settle for a place on the bench against Everton this time around, after missing the last three weeks with injury, but he appeared fully fit and hungry in training, as he stepped up his comeback.
It will be only his second derby, but the first back in February was the moment he realised just how much of an occasion the famous meeting of city rivals is…and how much of a weapon the Kop can be. He took the roof off the historic old stadium with a close range finish from a wonderful flowing move, as Liverpool showed signs of the style of football boss Jurgen Klopp has unveiled to great success this season.
And Gakpo believes that passion of the fans can be massive advantage as the club looks to win honours once more, after a barren spell in a transitional season last time around.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
“When you play at a club like Liverpool, I never won a prize here yet, but I can imagine it feels slightly different than with other clubs,” he explained. “The fans you always hear them, when you play home or away, you always feel the support they give – always positive as well.
“That’s why you’re going to go the next step, a little bit further, you want to fight for them as well. It’s together.”
Cody Gakpo in training on Thursday ahead of the Merseyside derby (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)His first goal for Liverpool was perhaps Gakpo’s greatest Anfield moment so far - as the Reds dominated the derby on Everton manager Sean Dyche’s own debut in the historic fixture. But he revealed, in a conversation with the club’s website, that he has trained all his life for the success he believes will come at his new club, after being coached by the greats - thanks to his dad, Johnny!
“When I started playing football my dad trained me a lot. Maradona and Pele were his heroes back in the day so he always showed clips of them to me,” he explained. “That’s how I got to know them as well, they’re all brilliant. And then you had Messi, Ronaldo and all those big names. They all were inspirations.”
But even though he learned from the best, in fact one of Gakpo’s biggest influences was actually a Stoke City hero…though he knew Ibrahim Afelley, him a long time before he arrived in the Potteries!
“Obviously where I’m from we all support PSV, so then in the team we had Afellay, he played for PSV and played for Barcelona after, so everybody in the city wanted to be him, including me.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
