Jamie Carragher has admitted that he’s ‘baffled’ by the signing of Cody Gakpo and has blamed some of the Reds’ current issues on Jurgen Klopp after the German tactician failed to sign a new midfielder in the summer.
The Anfield outfit were interested in a move for French international Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco but after he opted for a move to Real Madrid, the Merseysiders did not turn their attention to any other midfield targets and the former Borussia Dortmund boss instead insisted that he was happy with his current options.
Striker Darwin Nunez was signed from Benfica in the summer in a deal worth an initial £64m and our only signing of last month’s window was the arrival of Gakpo from Dutch side PSV – a move which appears to have left our former No. 23 rather bemused.
“In attack, Diaz started his Liverpool brilliantly but [Darwin] Nunez is a work in progress, and I am baffled watching Gakpo’s early performances,” Carragher wrote in The Telegraph (via Express). “Gakpo is not a typical Klopp signing, lacking lightning pace and the capacity to lead a high press.
“Why commit up to £45 million on someone who will be on the bench when Diaz and Diogo Jota are fit? Especially when another area of the team needed strengthening? Since the summer of 2022, Liverpool have committed £180 million on four attackers in Luis Diaz, Fabio Carvalho, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo. Liverpool’s owners did not fail to invest. They failed to invest in a midfielder. Now they need a new midfield.
“Liverpool wanted to sign one in Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco, knowing his market value was £75 million. When Tchouameni chose Real Madrid, the money was there if Klopp wanted an alternative, but he opted to wait until 2023, hoping he will lure Jude Bellingham. That was Klopp’s call, not owner John W. Henry’s.”
It’s understandable as to why Carragher is claiming that the money spent on Gakpo should’ve instead been spent on signing a midfielder with many of our performances so far this campaign simply not good enough.
Our struggle for consistency has been blamed on the lack of quality in our midfield with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho performing nowhere near their best this term and Thiago Alcantara unable to do it all on his own.
Although the signing of Gakpo may have raised a few eyebrows, at just 23 years of age the Dutchman still has his best years ahead of him and his versatility is something that will have caught the eye of Klopp.
We’re now pretty well stocked in the attacking department so it’s therefore imperative that reinforcements in the middle of the park are signed in the summer.
Jude Bellingham is believed to be the club’s main transfer target but the teenager is also attracting interest from Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Alternative options other than the 18-year-old must also be lined up in case Bellingham does opt for a move somewhere else other than Anfield.
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