Liverpool ‘may need permission’ for Gakpo to make debut vs Brentford

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Liverpool may require special dispensation from the Premier League for new signing Cody Gakpo to make his debut against Brentford on Monday. The Reds take on the Bees in their first match of the New Year at the Gtech Community Stadium in west London.

And ahead of that match, Liverpool have confirmed that they have signed Gakpo from PSV for an initial £37million, subject to a work permit. The 23-year-old Netherlands international should not have any problems being granted his permit.

However, The Athletic report that the Dutchman – who has not trained for nearly two weeks following a post-World Cup break – may need permission to play against Brentford. His UK work permit application cannot be submitted until after the Premier League transfer window opens on January 1.

And the Dutch transfer window does not officially open until January 3, which is the reason Liverpool may have to ask the Premier League for special dispensation for Gakpo to play. Instead, the forward – who scored three goals at the World Cup in Qatar – may have to wait until January 7 to play for his new club for the first time.

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That is when Premier League rivals Wolves travel to Anfield in the third round of the FA Cup. Gakpo will of course need time to get adjusted to playing both in England and also under new manager Jurgen Klopp, who has demands of his attackers to press and defend from the front.

But the German tactician is clearly optimistic that the Reds’ new No 18 can make the transition to life at Anfield effectively. Klopp told Liverpool’s official website: “It really is great news for us that we have been able to do it and I have to say it has been a fantastic job by everyone involved, especially Julian [Ward].

“The work that has gone into this has been really impressive and in the end we have managed to sign a player who we have known about for quite some time and who we believe will have a really bright future with us.

“There is a lot to like about Cody. He is still only 23 years old but he already has a lot of experience. He was the captain of PSV, he was the Player of the Year in Holland last season and, as a lot of people have just seen, he also had a great World Cup with his national team.

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“So, it is clear that he is already a really, really good player but his age also means he also has the potential to become even better. Offensively, he is very versatile and on top of this we know he is a smart footballer and also a smart person, so we are really excited to be able to work with him.”

Gakpo himself said: “I feel really good, I’m really excited to be here. I’m looking forward to start training and start playing for this amazing club. I think this is a great club for me to come in and try to show what I can [do] and try to help the team to achieve more beautiful moments that they already did in the past years.

“I think for me personally it’s also good to develop here and there’s a lot of great players here [who] I can learn a lot of things from. Obviously [my aim is] to win as many prizes as we can as a team, to perform well, to show the world what we can do as a team and what I can do as a player. And personally, just to keep developing and become a better player every season.”

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