Villa dispatched and welcome to Liverpool Cody Gakpo
It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours then, as we got our PL campaign back underway with a hard fought 3-1 win at Villa park, only for the news to break after the match that we’d agreed a deal with PSV to sign up and coming Dutch sensation Cody Gakpo.
Let’s start with the match. There was good and bad in last night’s performance. We had a better start and scored after 10 minutes with a beautifully crafted goal. Villa may have thought the danger was over after clearing the initial corner until Trent picked out Robbo with an outside of the boot pass that was absolutely out of this world, allowing Robbo to square the ball to Salah for a tap in, breaking the record for most assists by a defender in the PL era in the process and he could have had more in the first half where he looked really sharp.
Virgil got the second with a well taken finish and all was going well. The score line didn’t tell the full story however, as Villa missed a host of gilt edged chances themselves and when they pulled one back shortly after the break, there were a few nervous moments, especially as Nunez profligacy in front of goal continued on from the City game.
Klopp rang the changes and a few eyebrows were raised when Hendo made way for young Bajcetic, with the game still in the balance. A short while later however, it showed why Klopp is the actual manager, while we’re just armchair managers. Nunez may be struggling in front of goal at the moment but he’s still a real handful and you can’t fault his fitness levels and work rate as he chased down what looked to be a lost cause, cut the ball back to Bajcetic and the young Spaniard showed great composure to chip it past the keeper and then squeeze the ball past the defender on the line to secure all three points.
We saw another glimpse of the future as young Ben Doak made his PL debut and made an instant impact with a turn that left the Villa player on the floor and showed his confidence and directness, even in this short cameo appearance.
After the game however, fans and social media alike were soon in a frenzy as news broke we’d reached an agreement with PSV for Cody Gakpo. The 23 year old Dutchman has been building quite a reputation for himself, joining us from the Dutch league where he is both top scorer and the league’s most creative player in terms of assists and chances created, performing predominantly on the LW, however his 3 goals in 5 WC appearances from the CF position for Holland has done his reputation no harm either.
In recent windows, we’ve concentrated on hoovering up the top young talent coming through, which is great for the future but we’d moved away from our model of signing players in the age range of Gakpo – ready to play now but also ready to take the next step in their development as we saw happen with Mane, Salah and Jota and now look to be replicating with Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo. He adds real depth to the forward line and a badly needed extra option at the moment, with so many injuries in our forward area.
I must admit to being surprised we’ve signed an attacker this window, with midfield being the area of the pitch we’re most in need of reinforcements but if we’ve addressed forward depth this window, I’d be amazed if we don’t have a CM lined up as well, be that Amrabat or Fernandez. I’d be surprised if Dortmund were prepared to let Jude go mid season so I suspect that particular transfer saga won’t be resolved until the summer.
Exciting times then and the win and new signing will hopefully be a shot in the arm for both fans and players alike and will hopefully provide a springboard for a strong second half to the season.
Leicester up next on Friday then and they’ve been pretty terrible this season so nothing else than another 3 points will do. Until then, walk on!
Recent Comments