Netherland boss Ronald Koeman reckons had a tough time adapting to the as he joined a ‘struggling’ Liverpool team, but is backing the versatile forward for a bright future.
The 24-year-old has had a good international break, scoring in qualifying wins over Republic of Ireland and .
They were his first goals of the season after failing to score in Liverpool’s opening four matches of the campaign.
Gakpo has been deployed deeper than usual, filling in in midfield as the Reds go through a significant revamp in the middle of the park.
It has continued a fairly turbulant time at the club since Gakpo joined from PSV in January with Jurgen Klopp’s sides not in great form at all, eventually finishing fifth in the Premier League, even after an impressive finish to the season.
Koeman believes it has been hard for Gakpo to get the best out of his talent, even though he has equipped himself well, but backs him to go on to great things.
‘You have to understand that Gakpo is still a young player,’ said the former Barcelona manager. ‘When he first went to Liverpool, the team was struggling and that made it difficult for him to make a quick impact.
‘If you join a team that is doing well, then you have a chance to come in when the moment is right, but Liverpool needed something quickly and that was tough.
‘You have to give him that time to develop and to adapt to the Premier League because it’s a different level.
‘I know from my time in England that the intensity is much higher than he used to play in Holland but he’s young and he will learn and he will be better, but he has a great future. You can see his quality.’
, . , and .
