Gachapo scout report: the 1999 new star who makes 50 balls a year meets Klop’s tactical needs very well.

He has been close to a move to Manchester United over the past six months, but Gakpo joined Liverpool after scoring three consecutive goals in the World Cup group stage.
With a transfer fee of up to 50 million pounds and a 23-year-old attacker who has contributed 28 goals and 22 assists in the past year, Liverpool continue to be efficient in the transfer market. This young man, in particular, has a number of characteristics that are in line with Klop’s tactical needs.
01. Inherit Parental Sports DNA: proving talent at the World Cup
a. Born athlete: he made his debut as the Little Prince of data.
His father used to be a professional player in Togo, and his mother was a Dutch rugby player. Gakpo, from a sports family, inherited his parents’ excellent DNA.
With a height of nearly 1.9 meters and a good talent for speed, Garkpo has been regarded as a top genius since childhood. Entering PSV Eindhoven’s Academy at the age of 8 and getting his first professional contract at the age of 16 has always been the focus of the team.
From the data of the Dutch League in 2021-22, it can be seen that the 22-year-old Gakpo has a clear advantage in the comparison with Anthony.
A report card with 21 goals and 15 assists made Gacbo attract the attention of many big clubs. However, PSV Eindhoven rejected an offer of 33 million euros + 11 million euros from Leeds United, and he eventually stayed with the team.
The young man, who bears a resemblance to Yama, the quasi-champion of NBA, ushered in an explosion in 2022. In 24 club games in the new season, he contributed 13 goals and 17 assists, and the total number of club events for the whole year came to 23 goals and 21 assists.
With five goals and one assist from the national team, he scored 28 goals and 22 assists a year in 2022, directly involved in 50 goals.
b. Not going to Manchester United to Liverpool: it would be good for him
In addition to PSV Eindhoven rejecting an offer from Leeds United, Garkpo is also close to Manchester United in the summer window.
He admitted in an interview: “I almost left the Netherlands in the summer and I talked to Manchester United manager Teng Hagg several times.” But they didn’t make an offer and I need to think about going to Leeds United or Southampton at the last minute. But I decided to stay, and it put a lot of pressure on me at that time. ”
Former Liverpool player Ryan Babel, who is also a Dutch international and has worked with Giacopo, talked about his descendants and gave him advice: “choose your next stop according to the style of the team.” If Mann Lenovo wants you, you have to think about whether you can play well under their staffing, rather than just focusing on the name Manchester United. ”
Babel’s words are actually very clear, Gakpo is a good sense of attack and defense at both ends, the movement is very smart player. He is in line with Klop’s tactical requirements and choosing Liverpool is a good thing for him.
When he appeared in the World Cup for the first time, Gakpo scored in all three group games (all scoring first), becoming the first player in Dutch football history to do so. It is also the fourth Dutchman to score in three consecutive World Cup games (the other three are Neskens, Bergkamp and Sneijder).
Liverpool immediately contacted PSV Eindhoven, who was not asking a high price because of his economic crisis and eventually sent him to the Premiership stage at a fixed price of £37 million plus a floating price of 13 million.
02. Can’t play the starting center: but in the mobile system, he is an offensive generalist.
a. Course position: front waist or side front waist
Born on May 7, 1999, the most suitable location for Jiakbo is the front waist or side front waist. Although he can also play as a striker, generally speaking, he is a second platoon attacker and is not fit to come forward.
However, in a highly mobile system, Gacbo can also temporarily play a part of the role of center, after all, the Dutch front has a part of this quality.
As can be seen from Gachapo’s World Cup assists when Van Gaal first took office, this time he suddenly cut in after taking the ball on the flank and then moved to the ribs of the penalty area without the ball in time.
Although teammate Berhaus’s long-range shot was a bit hasty, he mistakenly hit the ball and came to Gakpo’s feet. His back strength is not very good, but the flexibility and passing are good, distributed to the flank of Deppe, let the latter score goals, impressive.
b. High speed
Gakpo moves smartly and faster on the offensive end. In the key game against Senegal in the World Cup group stage, Gakpo took the ball in front of the counterattack, bringing the team a chance to move forward and laying the foundation for the final shot.
In the subsequent attack, when Deppe attracted defensive attention and gave Dejong plenty of room to play, Gakpo moved sideways for the first time and scored a header ahead of Mendi, allowing the Dutch team to win and get off to a good start.
From the statistics, we can see that Gachapo’s instantaneous speed in the European Cup reached the fourth of all the players, and it is not easy to know that this player is 1.88 meters tall.
c. Be good at leading propulsion
Gachapo said that he is more suitable as a second platoon attacker, because although he is not known for his outstanding ability and breakthrough ability, but he has a lot of characteristics in the midfield speed forward.
From the statistics of the 2021-22 season, it can also be seen that Gacbo’s pass in dribbling and pushing is very conspicuous (on the contrary, the passing position is more on the perimeter).
Gacbo is very good at moving offensively in the ribs. On the one hand, he has a good shot, and on the other hand, he can send a good cross or cross on both his left and right feet.
At the same time, if he holds the ball in the relatively outer ribs, he has a good sense of instigating the full-back to cover the perimeter.
In this wave of counterattack, Gacbo held the ball to the core area, and then sent a good pass to the follow-up Dunfries, but the latter’s cross quality was mediocre and failed to pose a greater threat.
03. It meets the needs of Liverpool: comprehensive scoring means & has a good sense of defense.
a. A variety of scoring methods: both feet and header are good, long-range shooting ability is very strong.
Gacbo is a good shooter, scoring only 5.27 goals in the first 10 games of the season, but he scored nine goals and seven assists at the same time.
Taking the goals in the Champions League qualifier last season as an example, we can see Gacbo’s push in the counter-attack and his shooting advantage.
After his teammates broke the ball, Jiakbo instantly took the ball from the center line to the other side’s 30-meter area, and finally took the ball horizontally a little bit alone, but he had such a strong long-range shot, and the goal was not so unexpected.
In the World Cup, Gakpo’s first goal came from a header and the last two were long-range shots.
Especially this goal, or the left foot to complete, the quality is extremely high.
Three goals, respectively from the forward header, the right foot and the left foot of the wonderful goal, Gakpo in the internal and external attack threat is very big, coupled with good at moving in the ribs in the penalty area, Klop phase he also deserves.
b. There are many mistakes and good defensive consciousness.
Relatively speaking, the biggest defect of Gacbo is the high error rate of holding the ball. His control of the ball under his feet is not very reliable, and the first touch of the ball is more casual.
Fortunately, this player has a high anti-grab enthusiasm and a good sense of defense, which will make Klop like it very much.
Take this wave of retreats as an example, Gacbo came back quickly from the frontline and knew how to get stuck in the middle.
As a flank attacker, this kind of consciousness is very rare, and it may also be related to the fact that he has often played in the front since childhood, so the position of falling defense is obviously higher than the average.
In this wave of defense, Jiakebo is to complete the critical position in front of the restricted area. He has long legs and will have an advantage in attack and defense.
With a positive retreat and a good sense of crisis, it is not surprising that the defensive side has contributed.
Conclusion:
With such a price to buy an attacker who has a good chance of starting with two pairs of data and even a big break in the league, Liverpool have obviously made a good deal with great hope of success.
The key is that Gakpo fits Klop’s tactical system and is unlikely to fail unless he is hit by a major injury.
Although his upper limit may not be that high, it is not once or twice for a player with a high lower limit and a strong practicality to succeed in Klop’s hands.