On the eve of Liverpool vs. Leicester in the Premier League, Thursday was dominated by the focus on Cody Gakpo and expectations of his debut.
Gakpo, Gakpo, Gakpo – and a bit of Caicedo
Unsurprisingly, in the wake of his £37 million move to Liverpool being confirmed on Wednesday night, much of Thursday has been dominated by Gakpo talk.
That has included Jurgen Klopp casting doubt over a debut against Brentford on January 2, with a more likely first outing at home to Wolves in the FA Cup five days later.
The manager also moved to rule out any impact on Roberto Firmino‘s future despite the No. 18 arriving on Merseyside, confirming that he “definitely” wants a new deal for his long-serving striker.
And welcoming Gakpo to Liverpool, Klopp enthused that “there is a lot to like about Cody.”
Who next?
Atención?
Ayer Liverpool ratificó su intención de comprar al ecuatoriano por un valor menor a los €70Millones que pide el Brighton y volvió a enviar la oferta.
Los rojos son los más interesados y es la oferta más formal, Brighton le gusta,pero quiere más dinero menos bonos. pic.twitter.com/b5rMkGPSoP
— TERADEPORTES (@Teradeportes) December 29, 2022
Well, Ecuadorian outlet Tera Deportes claim that Liverpool have made the “most formal offer” for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, but are unwilling to meet a €70 million price tag.
“Brighton like [the offer],” the update explains, “but they want more money, less [add-ons].”
Returns, injuries and uncertainty
- Ibrahima Konate is back in training and available to face Leicester, following his run to the World Cup final, Klopp confirmed in his press conference
- Roberto Firmino has described himself as “already healed” after a hamstring injury, but admitted his return target is Brentford, not Leicester
- James Balagizi, the promising young Liverpool loanee, is set for his third manager in six months with Crawley’s latest coach resigning after just 34 days in the job
Kit leaks and Enzo ‘fake news’
- A new leak has given the best idea so far of what Liverpool’s next home shirt will look like (TIA)
- James Milner has revealed that a spell of snow saw him ‘miss out’ on a move to Everton as a youngster (LFC)
- Benfica have denied false quotes attributed to president Rui Costa claiming Enzo Fernandez can leave this January if his €120 million release clause is met – although, technically, it is true (A Bola)
- PSV have asked Liverpool to “take care” of Gakpo in a series of emotional goodbye messages (PSV)
Liverpool have transfer competition…
- Chelsea are interested in Fernandez, along with Liverpool targets Caicedo and Jude Bellingham (The Athletic)
- Pep Guardiola has claimed Erling Haaland is “not at his best” despite hitting the 20-goal league milestone in December (Sky Sports)
- Arsenal are considering another offer after their £45 million bid for Shakhtar’s Mykhailo Mudryk was rejected (Times)
Tweet of the day & match of the night
Cody Gakpo, welcome to @LFC. This number has brought me lots of magic, and I hope it will bring you the same kinda magic too. Congratulations and good luck. #LFC #LiverpoolFC pic.twitter.com/GwzF42Izbm
— Dirk Kuyt (@Kuyt) December 29, 2022
More Dirk Kuyt, less Jean-Michel Ferri, please Cody!
There’s no Premier League football on tonight, but there will be a lot of familiar faces on show as OGC Nice host Lens on BT Sport 4.
Expect Kasper Schmeichel in goal and both Ross Barkley and Nicolas Pepe in attack for Nice. Weird. Kickoff at 8pm.
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