Arne Slot has eye on Euro 2024's best player as ex-Barcelona boss knows what Liverpool must do

Arne Slot has insisted that he won’t be ripping up Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool blueprint. After all, why would he?

Given that Klopp spearheaded the Reds’ rise back to the pinnacle of European football, winning seven major trophies including the Champions League and Premier League, it would be folly for Anfield’s new head coach to make wholesale changes.

It will be more about continuing where Klopp left off - although Slot has admitted some tweaks will be made. And watching Euro 2024, there is one adjustment that Kopites aplenty are clamouring for Slot to implement.

Liverpool fans will have been keeping a close eye on Holland’s progress with their squad including three of the club’s players. But given it’s Slot’s homeland, he will be paying even closer attention as he cheers on the Netherlands to glory.

The Reds supremo will be as equally as impressed with the performances that Cody Gakpo has produced. In truth, he has been one of the best players at the tournament so far - perhaps he is even at the front of the queue. Maybe only Spain’s Nico Williams and Rodri along with Germany’s Jamal Musiala are battling him for that title.

Ahead of the Euros, there’d be few people who thought Gakpo would currently be sitting joint-top of the scoring charts. He has fired three goals, with his latest arriving in a 3-0 last-16 win over Romania. He also had another ruled offside following a VAR check and notched an assist.

If it were not for Gakpo’s performances, Ronald Koeman’s men may not find themselves in the quarter-finals for the first time in the Euros since 2008. The Liverpool forward has been their talisman. And his displays have been given much food for thought when he does report back for duty on Merseyside later this summer.

It would be a disservice to suggest Gakpo has been lacklustre since arriving for an initial £37.5 million from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023. He’s scored 23 times and recorded eight assists in 73 games, so not too short of a goal contribution every other game. But perhaps there is an argument he hasn’t fired how some thought he might have.

Gakpo arrived at Anfield against the backdrop of a scintillating first half of the 2022-23 campaign as he plundered 13 goals and 17 assists in just 24 outings. But at Liverpool, he’s not been as prolific as some may have hoped.

Perhaps it is because, for the majority of his Reds career, Gakpo has primarily operated as a central striker rather than on the left flank where he played for PSV. He’s been deployed as a false nine, similar to Roberto Firmino, but has not always been effective. There were also times last season when short of midfield options, Gakpo was used in the engine room. By Klopp’s own admission, that caused the forward to lose confidence.

To his credit, Gakpo ended the 2023-24 season in decent form as he started the final four Premier League games ahead of Darwin Nunez in a central role - scoring twice and creating another. But Slot may be watching the Euros and pondering a switch of position for Liverpool.

Gakpo has previously admitted featuring off the wing is his favourite. And Holland boss Koeman agrees.

“First, his position is on the left side,” ex-Barcelona and Everton boss Koeman told reporters after the Romania win. “Because he is really dangerous if he comes one-against-one with the right full-back. Inside, outside, he has his qualities, he’s strong.”

Slot isn’t short of options when it comes to the left flank. Luis Diaz has been almost insurmountable while Diogo Jota can play right across the front line. Nunez has also had games when he is based out wide. Yet Gakpo has proven more prolific than Diaz and less volatile than Nunez. Liverpool’s head coach has much to ponder.