In hindsight, Jurgen Klopp was right.
When he resigned from the Liverpool post, nine years after his tenure, the iconic manager’s decision was met with disappointment from a fanbase where success over the past decade had been designed by German brilliance.
But Klopp was right. He was tired and knew that without that fiery ball of energy in it, his infectious personality would not feed his team, his tactics, and the wider community of clubs.
It was hard to accept as Arne Slot took his place, bringing Liverpool to a higher level and winning the Premier League at Canter, but perhaps not yet, Klopp was right.
During their holiday in Dubai, they are now dominating the Reds, who are now in the Gulf sunshine, celebrating their victory and saying goodbye to Trent Alexander Arnold that their expected transfer to Real Madrid will be bigger.
Instead, slot and sports director Richard Hughes appears to be strengthening Dutch troops by signing Jeremy Fripon to replace his vice captain.
Liverpool’s growing Dutch conditions
Liverpool has eased the hassle of finding a replacement for Torrent as they are lucky enough to have Connor Bradley on their first team over the past two seasons.
Still, Bradley is young and easily injured. Frimon is a great addition to lift the right side to shore and add a new flavor of attacking talent. The correspondent has been clearly explained to dozens, with many reports revealing that Liverpool is undergoing high consultations to seal the Dutch signature.
Frimon certainly isn’t within the scope of Merseyside peers. Slot is a major admirer of the versatile right cider, compatriots who played a crucial role in the Leverkusen era filled with Xabi Alonso trophy.
The boss’s compatriots will, of course, find many teammates with both Liverpool and Dutch captain and Ryan Gravenberch, as well as Virgil van Dik, both of the speedy flanker and Cody Gakupo, in the ranks.
Cohesion at Anfield is the term, with Liverpool moving from strength to strength under the wings of the slot. In particular, Glenben Birch has blossomed into a high-class midfielder this season after sitting mostly around the area last year.
He probably didn’t receive the same credits, but Gakupo also made boundary advances in his development.
The slot hit the jackpot of Cody Gakpo
When Gakpo reached the end of his first season at Liverpool and joined at the halfway point, he probably felt a fair measure of frustration that FSG certainly hadn’t reached the height when he called.
There was a lot of excitement when Liverpool hijacked the Manchester United deal and took Gakupo with a base rate of £35 million in late December 2022 as he had just put his name on the map at the Qatar World Cup and terrified Eredivisy’s defense at PSV Eindhoven.
He certainly wasn’t poor, but Gakupo entered Liverpool on Klopp’s side in the agony of collapse.
He still managed to score 10 goals involvement in 26 games, but Gakupo appears to be a different player at this stage of his career, perfectly matching the slot system. Critics Joe Cole and Peter Crouch agreed to “elevate the level” this year under new management.
Look at Cody Gakpo’s LFC career | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
season | App (start) | the goal | assist | g/a rate |
24/25 | 47 (30) | 18 | 6 | 0.51 |
23/24 | 53 (32) | 16 | 7 | 0.43 |
22/23 | 26 (22) | 7 | 3 | 0.38 |
Statistics through the Transfer Market |
The secret of the sauce was not complicated at least on the surface level. Gakpo was ferried endlessly on the starting lineup, and Klopp decided to make good use of the players’ obvious technical capabilities.
Gakupo’s dynamism was loaned out to diversity, but this irritated his prolific senses and left him with itching for a more structured role. Certainly, this is a fundamental part of Gakupo’s development, and highlighting himself during the celebration of the Liverpool title, but it is difficult to oppose his new role being one of the great rewards for the club and the players.
That’s why Slots keeps him on his left flank, and 40 of his 47 outings this season come from the wide channel.
That £35 million price now appears to be an absolute bargain. In fact, according to Transfer Mark, the Dutch forward has seen his market value rise to £59 million from his season-wide exploit, showing an increase of £24 million in investments just two and a half years ago. For example, Frimon is said to be worth £42 million.
Journalist Jacob Schneider claimed that Gakupo was “very ridiculous” before moving to Liverpool, but that’s now backed up, and there have been a few since.
This is a very feat for the player who was brushed by many rival fans after a stop start that began at Merseyside. Gravenberch has taken most of his admiration for his stunning season, but Gakpo is everything and takes quite a feat to eat up players.
That means Flimon may be joining Liverpool with confidence from the slot and the power of being able to bring a noticeable effect on the project, but he is not planning on knocking out Gakupo from High Pash without a special and sustained performance next year.
Either way, it’s very little important to the persuasive people in Liverpool. What’s important is that Slot knows what he’s doing and has already shown him his ability to get the best from his fellow countrymen.
Market Movers
Football Fancast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player, or is it worth the biggest flop of today?
There’s no doubt that the coach hit the jackpots with Gakpo and Gravenberch, but he could have the same impact next season.
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