Cody Gakpo has made feelings clear amid fears Alexander Isak will take his Liverpool place

As Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool is on the brink of completion, some previous comments from Reds forward Cody Gakpo have come to light

Cody Gakpo will not feel threatened by Alexander Isak’s imminent arrival at Liverpool, judging by his previous comments on competition for places at Anfield.

After a dramatic summer, Liverpool have finally agreed a Premier League record £125million deal with Newcastle United for Isak. The Swede arrived on Merseyside for a medical on the morning of transfer deadline day. He will be the third new forward recruit to join the Reds after the £116m signing of Florian Wirtz and Huko Ekitike’s arrival for £79m.

While Liverpool supporters are looking forward to seeing how the new £321m trio will work alongside Mohamed Salah, the previous occupants of Arne Slot’s forward line may feel threatened.

READ MORE: Newcastle identify third target to replace Alexander Isak after Liverpool transfer agreementREAD MORE: Hugo Ekitike has already made feelings clear on losing Liverpool spot to Alexander Isak

Gakpo, who has one goal and two assists in the first three Premier League matches of the campaign, is one player who may be wondering what his future will look like. The Dutchman was signed by Jurgen Klopp from PSV Eindhoven in the 2023 January transfer window.

However, if his previous comments suggest anything, he will be relishing the challenge of competing with the aforementioned trio. In September 2024, Gakpo told the official Liverpool FC website: «Yeah, I think there is a lot of competition.

«But that will push us to become better players and in the end we will all benefit from that. Hopefully the team does as well, so we can score more, or give more assists or play better and help the team win. And at the end, hopefully that will lead to trophies.»

Gakpo was a centre-forward at PSV before he joined the Reds. However, he has primarily featured on the left-hand side, a position he will surely remain in with both Ekitike and soon Isak in situ. At the time, he had no issue with that, saying: «I think I am used to playing on the left so I like that a lot.»

It’s likely Gakpo will have to contend with a place on the bench once Isak arrives at Anfield. His hopes of getting into Slot’s first team will likely rely on him taking all of his chances while also hoping one of Salah, Wirtz, Ekitike and Isak struggle for form.

With Liverpool’s squad depth being bolstered in terrifying fashion this summer, they will surely be a threat on four fronts. The Reds cantered to the Premier League title last season, but endured early exits in the Champions League and the FA Cup, being knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain and Plymouth Argyle.

They also tasted defeat in the League Cup final, losing to Newcastle at Wembley Stadium, where Isak found the net in a 2-1 triumph for the Magpies.

Gakpo may count himself unlucky if he’s immediately benched as expected when the Swede joins the club. In 132 appearances in all competitions, he has contributed 42 goals and 19 assists, which works out to just under a goal contribution every two games.

As well as the new recruits, Liverpool have also sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich for £65.5m, while Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal bought Darwin Nunez for £46m. The Merseysiders were also devastated by the death of forward Diogo Jota, who was tragically killed in a car accident on July 3.

With the international break now upon us, Isak will soon jet out to Sweden for the international break. He was called up for his country’s World Cup qualifying clashes against Slovenia and Kosovo, despite spending the majority of pre-season training on his own at Newcastle.

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