Liverpool view Cody Gakpo as their long-term successor for Roberto Firmino who is set to leave the club at the end of the season.
Why is Firmino leaving Liverpool?
The 31-year-old will not be renewing his contract ahead of the final weeks of the season and will, therefore, seek opportunities elsewhere over the summer.
Jurgen Klopp is believed to have hoped the Brazilian would have chosen to stay at Anfield beyond this season, however, it seems as if the Reds will have to face life without him.
Firmino has made 359 appearances for Liverpool over the years and has been able to return 109 goals and 79 assists across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).
Liverpool have spent fairly significantly over recent months on their forward options and it seems as if their potential Firmino successor could already be in the building.
Indeed, speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Pete O'Rourke has claimed the Reds view their January addition, Gakpo, as a possible successor for the 31-year-old:
"He's going to be a tough player to replace in that Liverpool side because it's not just his goals, it's his all round game that he offers to Jurgen Klopp's side.
"So yeah, and obviously he will be a loss to Liverpool and it'll be up to them [to replace him]. Maybe they see Cody Gakpo as being somebody who can maybe come in, as he has done and become a long-term replacement for Firmino."
Is Gakpo good enough to succeed Firmino?
Firmino's brilliance at Liverpool will be remembered for his ability to create as well as find the back of the net with the Brazilian offering an impressive 79 assists.
And that is certainly something which Gakpo has shown during the early stages of his career in the Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven.
During his time in the Netherlands, the 23-year-old returned a seriously impressive 55 goals and 50 assists across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).
However, what is an interesting takeaway from his time at PSV is the majority of his games came from the left-wing position.
In comparison, only a small fraction of Firmino's games for the Reds have been played out wide with the majority of his appearances coming from the centre-forward position (via Transfermarkt).
So far for Liverpool, Gakpo has been able to offer a return of four goals in the Premier League but he is still waiting to provide his first assist.
Journalist Leanne Prescott has already hailed Gakpo as "sensational" upon his arrival at Anfield and he has certainly brought an all-round game to Merseyside as he ranks inside the top four percentile for interceptions (via Fbref).
It is still early days in Gakpo's career at Liverpool, however, there are positive signs with the Dutchman having returned a higher number of shot-creating actions (5.73) this season than Firmino (4.33) did in the 2017/18 campaign (via Fbref) – albeit across two different leagues.
"His defending is outstanding. Now you will say we bought a striker and talk about defending, but the defending in this position is outstanding," Klopp said about Gakpo in January.
With Luis Diaz set to return to the fold soon on the back of his injury issues, it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Gakpo's role in the Liverpool side.
