Cody Gakpo's Future at Liverpool: Balancing World Cup Success and Club Competition

Cody Gakpo walked off the pitch in Dutch orange with two more World Cup goals to his name and a question he could not quite bring himself to fully answer.

Asked how his role for the Netherlands compares with the one he fills at Liverpool, he paused.

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

Then he cut himself short.

That hesitation hangs over his club future as much as his words.

A left side suddenly crowded

Gakpo’s brace against Sweden arrived in the same week Liverpool moved decisively in the market for players who operate in his favourite territory.

Victor Munoz has joined from Osasuna for £34.5m, another winger who prefers the left. Liverpool have also pushed ahead with plans for a package worth £86m for RB Leipzig’s 19‑year‑old Yan Diomande, a highly rated forward comfortable on both flanks.

Two signings who can play in Gakpo’s zone. Two reminders that no one’s place is guaranteed at Anfield.

So where does that leave a 27‑year‑old who, not long ago, looked like a cornerstone of Liverpool’s new era?

From title catalyst to searching for form

Under Arne Slot in the title‑winning 2024‑25 campaign, Gakpo delivered the numbers of a frontline star: 18 goals, seven assists, 49 games in all competitions. He moved with authority, finished with conviction and earned a long‑term contract he was delighted to sign.

Then came last season.

Three more appearances, but a sharp drop: nine goals, six assists. The entire Liverpool attack laboured, and Gakpo was far from the only one to dip below his best, yet he will know those figures will not satisfy anyone at a club that expects its forwards to decide seasons.

He still prefers the left, but 2025‑26 exposed a fault line. His understanding with Milos Kerkez needed work, especially in making the most of the full‑back’s aggressive overlapping runs. Too often the timing was off, the angles not quite right.

The connection did improve as the months went on. Now Kerkez is back under Andoni Iraola, his former Bournemouth manager, and Liverpool expect the Hungary international to accelerate his development. A sharper, more dynamic Kerkez could be exactly what Gakpo needs: a partner who drags defenders away, opens lanes inside and amplifies that trademark cut‑in from the flank.

If they click, the left side could become Gakpo’s platform again, not his problem.

A proven scorer, a shifting attack

Strip away the noise and the numbers still speak loudly. Fifty goals in 180 appearances: Gakpo is only the second Dutchman after Dirk Kuyt to reach a half‑century for Liverpool. When fit, he has usually started. Inside the club, they still see him as a proven Premier League attacker, adaptable enough to play different roles.

That versatility matters now more than ever. With Hugo Ekitike facing a long spell out, potentially until 2027, after rupturing his Achilles, Iraola has lost a central option. Gakpo’s ability to operate through the middle gives Liverpool flexibility as they redesign an attack that misfired last season.

The context is unforgiving. Mohamed Salah has gone, and at least one more forward is expected to arrive before the window shuts. The pursuit of Diomande is live. Rio Ngumoha, the gifted teenager, is earmarked for a more prominent role. Florian Wirtz, who spent spells off the left last season and is playing there for Germany at the World Cup, adds another layer to the puzzle.

How Iraola positions Wirtz could be decisive. If the German becomes the preferred option off the left, Gakpo’s route to minutes in his favoured role narrows. If Wirtz is pulled inside, Gakpo’s path opens again.

Competition – catalyst or crossroads?

Gakpo has handled competition before. When Luis Diaz was flying, he responded, sharpened his game and pushed back. Liverpool know that an extra challenger can bring the best out of him.

This time, though, the stakes feel different.

For the first time since he arrived from PSV Eindhoven in December 2022, a departure is more than theoretical. Several clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, are tracking his situation. Any deal would be expensive: Liverpool would demand upwards of £60m, a hefty profit on the initial £35m they paid after the 2022 World Cup.

Those figures reflect his status. They also underline the decision facing Liverpool’s hierarchy. Cash in on a forward with strong resale value, or double down on a player whose ceiling they still believe in?

World Cup reminder of the real Gakpo

Against Sweden, Gakpo offered a sharp reminder of why this is not a straightforward call.

His first goal was simple but ruthless, a back‑post tap‑in born of smart movement and timing. The second was pure Gakpo: starting wide on the left, driving inside, then drilling a right‑footed shot into the corner. While his Liverpool team‑mate Alexander Isak failed to score for Sweden, Gakpo stole the spotlight.

His World Cup record is now formidable. Across the 2022 tournament and this one, he has five goals in seven games. Overall for the Netherlands, it is 23 goals in 52 caps since his debut five years ago. That is elite output at international level, not a hot streak.

Inside the Dutch camp, he carries weight beyond his finishing. Team‑mate Crysencio Summerville calls him “our pastor” and says Gakpo leads the squad’s prayers, an indication of his influence off the pitch as well as on it.

Virgil van Dijk, captain for both club and country, hardly needs convincing. After the 5‑1 win over Sweden, he called Gakpo “an outstanding footballer” and praised his work rate, discipline and end product – the crosses, the assists, the goals.

Those are not the words of a man who expects Gakpo to fade into the background.

Liverpool’s gamble

Right now, Gakpo’s attention is locked on the World Cup. Liverpool will be watching closely. Each goal, each performance, strengthens his case to remain central to Iraola’s plans, even as new signings circle his position.

They will also be mindful of how hard it can be for fresh arrivals to adapt. Isak and Wirtz both found their first seasons at Anfield demanding, a reminder that talent alone does not guarantee a smooth transition into Liverpool’s system or the Premier League’s intensity.

That is the tension at the heart of the Gakpo question. Liverpool want to refresh an attack that stalled. They also know they already have a forward who has scored heavily for club and country, who understands the demands of Anfield and who, under the right conditions, can still bend games his way from that left channel or through the middle.

As Iraola and the recruitment team redraw the front line, Gakpo sits at the junction of two possible futures – linchpin of the next Liverpool attack, or high‑value asset cashed in at the peak of a World Cup glow.

The summer will reveal which way they turn.