(Credit: Imago)

Michael Mongie

Wed 1 October 2025 17:30, UK

Liverpool are in worrying form and there are a number of players that need to improve, including Cody Gakpo.

The Reds lost their second game in a row after Arne Slot got three things wrong against Galatasaray, and even though referee Clement Turpin had a questionable performance, the Turkish side deserved to win the game.

Daniel Sturridge was surprised by Jeremie Frimpong’s positioning, questioning whether or not Slot made the right choice to play the 24-year-old on the left wing.

Meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch was very poor against Galatasaray and had arguably his worst Liverpool performance in over a year.

Cody Gakpo’s form is becoming a major problem for Liverpool

After starting on the bench against Crystal Palace, Cody Gakpo was restored to the Liverpool starting lineup against Galatasaray, but largely failed to impress. It’s a continuation of a worrying recent trend.

The last good performance the Dutchman had was against Burnley, but more concerning is his huge drop-off in goal contributions.

When Gakpo had a goal and two assists after the first two Premier League games of the season, it seemed as though the former PSV Eindhoven star was gearing up for a personal best individual season.

However, he has since failed to score or assist for Liverpool, blanking in eight straight games. In fact, his only goal contribution in the last two months came in a World Cup Qualifier against Lithuania.

Jamie Carragher has perfect Cody Gakpo solution

With Gakpo not performing well, Jamie Carragher‘s suggestion to play Florian Wirtz in a more left-sided role makes sense.

In the modern game, fully central No.10s are almost extinct. The engine room, with the prevalence of counter pressing, has made it arguably the most difficult role to play.

But even at Bayern Leverkusen, Wirtz played in a left-biased No.10 role. What that means is that even though he often played as a No.10, he often drifted into a left-sided space before moving into a central zone once he received the ball.

Wirtz should be played on the left, which would also allow Arne Slot to deploy his strongest midfield three of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch.

Liverpool made mistake selling Luis Diaz

When Liverpool refused to renew Luis Diaz‘s contract and sold him, many supporters wondered if the club had made a mistake after how good the Colombian was last season in the title race run-in.

Speaking to ESPN in September, Gakpo issued his thoughts about the situation: “From what I understand, they [Bayern] did come [to open talks about a transfer], but they ended up buying Luis Diaz. It’s difficult because so much is happening.

“Other clubs are approaching you, but you might want to stay with your own club. Everyone handles that in their own way, but it’s definitely difficult. When the future is uncertain, it just becomes a very difficult story.”

In fact, Football Insider sources learned in June that it was more likely Liverpool would offer Cody Gakpo a new contract than let him join Bayern.

It’s public knowledge now that the Germans signed Diaz, but the preliminary data this season suggests this was a mistake.

Imagining a front three of Diaz, Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah is quite something. What’s done is done, however, and Liverpool must now work with what they’ve got.

It’s by no means a situation that the Reds can feel hard done by after spending a record £466million on new players in the summer.