Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has admitted he is yet to speak to new manager Arne Slot but believes he could easily slip in Jurgen Klopp’s shoes at Anfield.
The Dutchman has been speaking to Voetbal International, relayed by PSV Fans, about his new manager as a new era at Liverpool gets underway.
Slot was confirmed as the new Liverpool manager last week following Jurgen Klopp’s farewell from the club on the final day of the Premier League season.
The German manager announced earlier this year that he had decided to leave Anfield after becoming too tired and seemingly unmotivated to see out the final year of his deal at the club.
The Reds initially remained tight lipped about who would replace Klopp at the club but eventually settled on Slot, who has impressed with Feyenoord over the last few years.
Of course, the step up from the Eredivisie to the Premier League is not a simple one but Gakpo is confident Slot will be okay, even if he hasn’t spoken to him personally.
“I played against him a few times with PSV, but I have never really spoken to him. What I know is that Slot wants to put a lot of pressure on his teams and play careful football on the ball.
“Certainly, that high pressure was also a characteristic of Klopp. So, we are used to that. The club has made a well-considered choice. I can’t say much else about it yet.”
Gakpo knows all about what it’s like to move from the Netherlands to England after making the move to Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven in a €42m deal in January 2023.
He’s been a regular for the Reds since that point but is yet to fully replicate the form he shoed in his homeland, with 23 goals and nine assists in 79 games not comparing favourably to his 55 goals and 50 assists in 159 games for the Dutch club.
He, though, isn’t focusing on that and instead believes he’s made major steps forward in other areas, and the statistics behind the scenes prove it.
“Especially physically. Conditional content, muscle mass, pace, intensity,” he added when asked about his development.
“I’m not really into the data, but I saw that there were big differences compared to my period at PSV. Especially in the number of high intensity runs. That physical development is now helping also to appear fit for the Dutch team.”
