Slot's new Gakpo: Liverpool still in the running for "one of the best STs"

Liverpool are renowned for their savvy operating in the transfer market, having spent wisely across the past decade to reap illustrious rewards.

While the Reds are preparing to fork out a bank-breaking deal for 22-year-old Florian Wirtz, understood to be worth at least £116m, the playmaker is regarded as one of the most influential rising talents in the world, having already conquered his German homeland.

The Bayer Leverkusen star hasn’t finalised his move to Anfield yet, but there’s no question he will be playing in a Liverpool shirt next season, according to Fabrizio Romano.

However, Liverpool don’t always spend record-smashing fees on talented forwards. Indeed, Cody Gakpo has proved himself a worthy Premier League winner, going from strength to strength after his smart £35m signing in January 2023.

With Bayern Munich ceding defeat in the race for Wirtz, they have turned their attention to alternative targets – including Gakpo.

Surely, Liverpool can’t let their 25-year-old star leave.

Cody Gakpo’s Liverpool future

Gakpo still has three years on his Liverpool contract, and after kicking on in Arne Slot’s system last term, will be confident that he can hit another level over the coming year.

Bayern seem to share the sentiment, but after receiving information that Liverpool have set an asking price of €100m (£84m), will likely shelve their curiosity.

This is good. Liverpool should not entertain the notion of selling their Dutch forward after his “monster” campaign, as has been said by journalist Declan Carr.

On the surface level, Gakpo hasn’t really made significant gains in regard to his output, but there’s no question he’s sharper, slicker and more effective in his nailed-down berth on the left wing.

Gakpo has the minerals to play well at centre-forward, but Liverpool are gearing up to sign a similar profile better suited to number nine.

Slot knows what he likes in a forward, and if he can sign a Gakpo-esque star with more of a centre-forward’s flair, the Merseysiders would move a confident step closer toward defending their crown.

Liverpool still in race for new forward

According to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool are still in the running for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, though Chelsea have also retained their interest as Manchester United enter the race.

The sticking point? Frankfurt want €100m (£85m) for their striker, and their director, Markus Krösche, has actually declared, “If the price isn’t right, then he will stay with us.”

With the plan confirmed for Darwin Nunez’s summer sale, Liverpool need to sign a striker, and if a deal can be engineered for Ekitike, they might just hit the jackpot.

What Hugo Ekitike would bring to Liverpool

Ekitike, a product of Paris Saint-Germain’s academy, only scored four goals across 33 matches for PSG’s senior team before making the move to Germany, signing for Frankfurt for a €35m (£30m) fee.

But his present transfer price tells you everything you need to know about his journey over the past year and a half, having finished the 2022/23 campaign (as a loanee) with a strong burst of prolific form before notching 22 goals and 12 assists across the past season.

But how does he compare to Gakpo? And why, more importantly, does that matter? Well, both forwards are rangy and loose-limbed, with a confident, striding gait that owes to their underlying power and confidence on the ball.

Gakpo’s physicality as a 6 foot 4 sensation has seen him rise to become one of the foremost forwards in the Premier League, and it’s an attribute that the 6 foot 3 Ekitike must harness too.

Of course, the underlying data also suggests how Ekitike, growing into his skin as a high-level goalscorer, also boasts a wealth of creative qualities.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 10% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 6% for shot-creating actions, the top 4% for both progressive carries and successful take-ons, and the top 19% for ball recoveries per 90, the latter of which underscores his energy and movement.

With dynamic and fluid players such as Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and Ousmane Dembele, PSG superstar, among Ekitike’s most statistically similar players, as per FBref, the France talent’s likeness to Gakpo is clear, for both players can operate between focal and wide attacking roles.

To be sure, Ekitike is not the finished product and needs to make further steps in his development if he is to justify such a price tag as £85m – or thereabouts.

But he’s immensely skilled, balanced and vibrant in his football. As per Sofascore, he made 12 big chances in the Bundesliga last season, also showing his combative side with an average of 4.2 duels won per match.

Analyst Ben Mattinson has also dubbed him “one of the best strikers out there”, which makes a telling comment on his current level and, indeed, how much better he could yet become.

Moreover, Ekitike has played the lion’s share of his career as a central striker, but across the four matches fielded on the left flank, he has scored one goal and provided two assists for his teammates. Thus, he’s blessed with a positional dynamism that furthers the argument of him being Slot’s new version of Gakpo.

In a mirror image, however, the Frenchman’s prowess lies as the focal frontman, with his qualities at variance with Gakpo’s in the best way, a way that could raise Liverpool’s level and propel them toward more silverware, more success.

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