‘To be honest…’ – Cody Gakpo responds to Arne Slot’s imminent arrival at Liverpool

Cody Gakpo has said that he’s ‘curious’ to begin working under Arne Slot at Liverpool, with the Feyenoord boss set to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

The Reds forward – who turns 25 today – came up against the incoming head coach during his time at PSV Eindhoven prior to joining LFC at the start of 2023, and he’s excited at the prospect of playing for his compatriot from next season.

Speaking to Viaplay Netherlands after the win over Tottenham on Sunday, our number 18 said (translated from Dutch via Liverpool Echo): “To be honest, I have never worked with him. I know, of course, that he is a very good coach who has shown it at AZ Alkmaar and at Feyenoord too. 

“Of course, we played against [his Feyenoord] a few times; they were often difficult games. I am very curious and I think we are all very much looking forward to it.

“The focus at the moment is not there yet and is now on finishing the last two games well, for ourselves, for the club, for the coach, and then we will look further at the new coach.”

While working under Slot will be a novel experience for everyone in the current Liverpool squad, all of whom (except Joe Gomez) were signed by or debuted under Klopp, although Gakpo has had more exposure to the incoming head coach than any of his teammates.

The Reds attacker has faced the 45-year-old four times during his time with PSV, once in a defeat to AZ in 2019 and three times against Feyenoord in his final 18 months in Eindhoven (Transfermarkt), so he could be well placed to offer some early hints as to what we can expect from the man who’s set to take charge at Anfield.

It’ll likely seem strange at first for the LFC players to convene for pre-season training and not have Klopp putting them through their paces, with 2015 being the most recent summer that the German wasn’t at the club.

However, Slot looks set to arrive at Liverpool with an impressive reputation from his time in Rotterdam, and we’re sure that every Reds player will have the utmost respect for what their next boss has done in his homeland.

It shouldn’t be too much longer before we see what the 45-year-old brings to Anfield.