Cody Gakpo has signed a new long-term contract at Liverpool, extending his time on Merseyside to 2030.
Liverpool have officially announced that Gakpo has put pen to paper on a new deal, with two and a half years under his belt at Anfield.
Following the departure of fellow left-winger Luis Diaz, the 26-year-old has stepped into a role of even greater importance and will be earning an increased salary to reflect that.
He has been earning a reported £120,000 per week at Liverpool, about the same as Federico Chiesa, who is just 18 months older and started 28 games fewer than Gakpo last season.
That figure should now go up significantly as the winger, who scored 18 goals and provided seven assists last season, approaches the prime years of his career.
Gakpo’s previous contract, that he signed when arriving at the club midway through the 2022/23 season, was set to expire in 2028.
The Dutchman told Liverpoolfc.com:
“It feels amazing to extend the contract here at this beautiful club. I’m very grateful and hopefully I can give back many more beautiful moments.
“I feel at home, my family feels at home and that’s also a big decision always. They feel good.
“I’m very happy at the club, a good group, good teammates, so the life around the football itself is very good and I enjoy every moment of it. I’m very grateful that I can extend.”
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At the moment, Gakpo has just Rio Ngumoha for competition on the left, but that could change if Alexander Isak were to sign.
Should the Swede arrive at Anfield, Hugo Ekitike could be used out wide more often, with Isak the obvious option to play through the middle.
For now, though, Gakpo very much has the left side nailed down for Liverpool, having started the opening two games of the season and already registered a goal plus two assists.
Since arriving at Liverpool, the attacker has played multiple positions, even deputising up front and in midfield for Jurgen Klopp, but under Arne Slot he has stuck to the left.
Speaking after signing his new deal, Gakpo commented: “Obviously Jurgen gave me the chance to come here in the first place – together with the club – and gave me a lot of chances to play in a team which was a great team at the time.
“I think we maybe didn’t have the best start when I came, I think we were struggling a little bit as a team. But I think from the moment, because I came in the winter, the next season started, I think we showed we were a very good team that [made] great signings and kept on building.
“And then obviously he left, which was a shame for, I think, almost everybody in the club, in the city. Then obviously the manager from now came in and did a great job last season with the team we had.
“I think they both had a lot of influence on me, [have] given me a lot of game time and I try to pay it back all the time when I’m on the pitch.”
With a direct style of play and knack for tallying up goals, Gakpo might not be the flashiest winger to have ever played for Liverpool, but he is certainly a supremely effective asset.
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