‘He’s back’ - Cody Gakpo is backing £85m Liverpool teammate to thrive this season

Cody Gakpo is not eyeing up a competition with Darwin Nunez for the central striker role, instead he’s backing the Uruguayan to enjoy a fruitful campaign this time around.

The £85m signing arrived with a big reputation after netting a 34-goal campaign with Benfica prior to his move to Liverpool, but he struggled to hit the heights expected after netting just nine in the Premier League.

On top of that, he ended the season joint-third when it came to big chances missed as he was guilty of passing up plenty of opportunities across last season. The positive aspect was that he continually affected games and found himself in goalscoring positions - something which bodes well for the future.

It’s something that has come to fruition in pre-season so far; Nunez has netted in every game and hit the target with every shot he’s attempted. He also looks sharp, focused and hungry to hit the ground running this time around.

Gakpo has backed not only his teammate to improve, but the whole squad after diminishing returns last year and he believes his teammate can build on last season’s performances after scoring four times in three games during their summer preperations to date.

“Darwin always worked really hard, when I came here he was working hard and doing his best,” says the Holland international. “In football sometimes it doesn’t work the way everybody wants, it’s not that he was doing anything particularly badly.

“Now he’s back this season and doing really great again. Last season in my eyes he did a good job – everybody could do better last season, it was a difficult season for us all – and hopefully this season he and we are going to do better.”

Gakpo has a strong case himself for being the main focal point going forwards. After all, since joining from PSV in January he has adapted to life on Merseyside far quicker than Nunez did and showcased a consistency, ability to link-up and a steadyness that Roberto Firmino used to display in the same role.

The pair will no doubt be interchanged as the season goes on, as both are different but brilliant options, and it remains to be seen who will get the nod on those big occasions.

As it stands, Nunez’s form will certainly have to be rewarded, but Gakpo’s varied skillset gives him the opportunity to play a number of positions, be it out-wide or deeper in midfield where Nunez can not.