Liverpool sold Luis Diaz in the summer, but the decision to keep Cody Gakpo instead has been widely discussed online, given their contrasting form this season.
Until his goal against Chelsea before the international break started, Gakpo had one goal and two assists. He now has two and two in seven games, but needs to continue in this vein moving forward, given Liverpool’s struggles this season.
Diaz is in superb form for Bayern Munich with six goals and four assists in his opening 10 appearances for the Bavarian outfit. Liverpool sold the Colombian attacker for £65.5million in the summer, which helped fund their record-breaking £466m summer spending spree.
While Hugo Ekitike (£79m) has been a superb addition with five goals and an assist since joining from Bayer Leverkusen, his attacking peers are struggling to perform quite like the Frenchman.
There is the expectation that Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz will find their groove soon enough, but until then, Liverpool need Gakpo to find some more form to support the new signings.
Mohamed Salah has also been similarly off colour, but there is little doubt that the Egyptian will return to top form before long.
Luis Diaz wanted a big contract to stay at Liverpool
According to Graeme Bailey, Liverpool do not regret selling Diaz despite his wonderful form for Bayern.
“I think it was the right deal, they got good money for him, he was asking for big money to extend,” Bailey reports.
“They brought Ekitike in, Wirtz, Ngumoha’s there. In 12 months time who’s to say Ngumoha is not the next Bukayo Saka and is starting for England and Liverpool? He might be. They had to get rid of Diaz to make room for him.”
Even though he wanted big wages to stay, he was reportedly earning €63,000 per week (£54k/week) and is now on €269,000 per week (£233k/week).
Given that he’s only 28 and one of the best players in the world, it’s hard to understand why Diaz wasn’t part of the future at Anfield – especially with so much change ongoing.
Should Liverpool have kept Diaz and sold Gakpo?
Even at the time, it felt confusing that Liverpool would allow Diaz to leave without signing a replacement. It leaves Liverpool light on the left flank and it’s been a noticeable weak point for the Reds this season.
Cody Gakpo spoke at the time about how Bayern tried to sign him before they signed Diaz.
Defending Liverpool’s decision, Bailey said: “They’ve still got Gakpo there, so in my opinion they’re not weaker without Diaz.
“I think it was an eminently sensible decision from them to move on from Diaz and Nunez. They made that decision way before this summer and pushed it through.
“From the moment he arrived he was looking for a new contract, and causing a few issues in and around the club. The people around him were hard work and Liverpool have no regrets about that deal whatsoever.”
Gakpo is a wonderful player, it must be said. Last season, he was excellent on the left wing, scoring 18 times and providing seven assists.
The Dutch forward does need to become less predictable, though, as it currently appears that Premier League fullbacks have him figured out in certain positions.
Much like the rest of the Liverpool squad, however, he needs to find some form at a time at the club where change is still ongoing.
