January was “not a time” for Cody Gakpo to seal a transfer to Liverpool with the “spirit is completely gone” at Anfield, according to former PSV Eindhoven boss Aad de Mos.
PSV announced on Boxing Day that Liverpool had agreed a transfer fee for Gakpo with the Netherlands international completing a £37m deal ahead of the January transfer window.
Prior to his move to Anfield, Gakpo had contributed 13 goals and 14 assists in 20 matches in all competitions with the 23-year-old also starring at the World Cup with three goals.
Gakpo arrives at Liverpool with the team struggling to match the form that they showed last season with Jurgen Klopp’s side going for an unprecedented Quadruple.
They fell short in the Premier League and Champions League but did win the FA Cup and League Cup in a brilliant campaign.
But the six-placed Reds are currently 16 points off the pace in the Premier League and are seven points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United.
Gakpo made his Liverpool debut on Saturday as the Klopp’s men were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Wolves in the FA Cup third round with the Reds perhaps lucky they didn’t lose.
The Netherlands international showed some flashes of his talent but it was an underwhelming performance from the whole team.
And former PSV boss De Mos reckons Gakpo has potentially made the wrong choice by joining Liverpool in their current poor run of form.
De Mos told Soccernews.nl: “He arrives at a time when the team is disappointing a bit. The spirit is completely gone and they are not among the best teams at the moment just like Chelsea.
“Liverpool are trying to get back on track at the moment and it’s not a time for young players coming in, so I don’t know if the time is right to go to Liverpool now.
“Also, maybe Jurgen Klopp is leaving soon… But Liverpool got him quite cheap because PSV is in a need right now to stay out of red numbers.”
Speaking after the match against Wolves, Gakpo was pleased to make his debut but hopes he can iron out a few “sloppy moments” in the coming games.
“Really great atmosphere,” Gakpo told the club’s official website: “For my own game, I think I showed some good moments and some sloppy moments.
“So, I can also still improve on those points and keep working and try to help the team as much as I can.
“Of course you learn the most when you’re playing games, so I’m looking forward [to more].”
When asked about the game itself, Gakpo added: “I think we played in phases really good football but in the end we didn’t score enough, so that’s a pity.
“But I think we showed what we could do, but we can still improve on some points and let’s work on that. I think we showed real team spirit at moments, so that’s good.
“I think we have to go there [Molineux] with great determination and just go for the win.”
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