Liverpool acted with decisiveness to make Cody Gakpo their first signing of the January window. 

PSV Eindhoven have announced that an agreement has been reached for the forward, who impressed at the World Cup in Qatar. 

With Liverpool facing an injury crisis in attacking positions and Gakpo being available for a relatively affordable fee, it is a deal that makes a lot of sense for Jurgen Klopp. 

Ahead of Gakpo’s move, which is subject to international clearance, we take a look at the rise of the 23-year old and how he will fit in at Anfield. 

Injury crisis

Liverpool have been linked with Gakpo for some time but other clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea seemed likelier destinations. 

The need to strengthen Klopp’s central midfield options looked to be more acute. Thiago is 31-years old and Jordan Henderson is 32, while the contracts of Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all expire in the summer. 

But the Reds have selection problems up front with Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota currently out. 

It is also fair to say that they have not looked the same since Sadio Mane departed in the summer and that a rumoured fee in the region of £37m, represents decent value in the current market. 

The transfer to Liverpool makes more sense than him joining United. Gakpo was heavily rumoured to be moving to Old Trafford but in Marcus Rashford, they already have a left-sided attacker in great form. 

Breakthrough season

It says much for how Gakpo’s stock has risen in a short period of time that despite being linked with a number of top clubs, his actual options for a summer transfer were Leeds and Southampton. 

The Dutchman elected to stay at PSV and his gamble has paid off. Last season he caught the attention with 36 goal contributions in all competitions. This campaign he already has 13 goals and 17 assists in just 24 games. 

With that sort of form a January transfer may have materialised anyway. Gakpo’s performances at the World Cup ensured that it did. 

Playing as a central striker in the Netherlands’ 3-5-2 formation, he scored three goals to help his team reach the quarter-finals. 

The strikes showed off his versatility as the 6ft 4in star headed home against Senegal, scored with a left-footed rocket against Ecuador and then finished off a move with his right against Qatar.

Familiar role

Gakpo’s performances as a striker created speculation regarding his suitability to perform in that role at clubs like United and Arsenal, who may move for a centre forward during this window. 

Ultimately, playing in a front two is a different job to playing as a central striker in a three. 

At the World Cup, Gakpo mostly occupied wide positions on both the left and right, from where he was able to cut inside. 

For now, it would seem that Gakpo will play on the left of Klopp’s 4-3-3 at Liverpool. 

Darwin Nunez was signed in the summer to play as a striker, while Roberto Firmino has had a more productive season than has been the case in recent years. 

Like Diaz last January, Gakpo could be parachuted straight into the side. In the 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day, Klopp started with Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left of his attack. 

The attacking options on the bench were the teenage talents Fabio Carvalho, Ben Doak and Harvey Elliott. Liverpool have a packed schedule in January and there will surely be opportunities for the new signing to show what he can add. 

Assist king

At the World Cup, two things really stood out in Gakpo’s performances. One was the calmness and variety of his finishing and the other was his pace. 

With his lengthy stride and ability on the ball, he is hard to stop in full flow. 

For the Dutch, he was often coming from deep positions. At Liverpool, his speed could also be used to stretch defences — as was the case with Mane. 

An interesting aspect of his season so far at PSV, is that he has created more goals than he has scored. 

That Is an ability that could help to get the best out of Nunez and Mohamed Salah, with neither having proved as prolific as would have been hoped this season. 

A two-footed player, a lot of his assists come from crosses and he was also PSV’s main set-piece taker. That will probably not be the case at Liverpool, who have Trent Alexander-Arnold available for free-kicks and corners. 

Given his height, having Gakpo in the box for set-pieces might be no bad thing.

Though he is likely to occupy the flank at first, the Dutchman has the ability to develop into a lone striker — adding to his value for Liverpool.