Liverpool boss Iraola insists he ‘had no doubt’ about Gakpo and makes shock Barcola claim | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has insisted that he “had no doubt” about Cody Gakpo after rumours that he could leave Anfield over the summer.

Gakpo put in a sparkling performance on Friday night as Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 2-0 to give them their first win of the new Premier League season.

The Netherlands international twice set up Liverpool team-mate Alexander Isak as the Reds went two goals up within nine minutes of the match at Portman Road.

There were rumours all summer that Gakpo could leave Liverpool with the Dutchman reportedly keen to explore a move to Tottenham before eventually favouring a move to Manchester City.

The Citizens were willing to spend £85m on Gakpo but in the end Liverpool couldn’t find a suitable replacement as the clocked ticked towards the transfer deadline.

Gakpo has been one of Liverpool’s standout performers in pre-season and at the beginning of this campaign and Iraola insists he “had no doubt” of the left-winger’s ability.

Iraola told reporters after beating Ipswich: “I had no doubt with Cody. He has been very, very good. All pre-season, [and] has started very well this season, producing numbers.

“Today, even after the two assists, he finishes as the No. 9 to help us close the game, and I think it’s good to have Cody because he can play in the three positions up top, like all of our other players.

“To have him in this place for the beginning of the season is good.”

Highlighting more of Gakpo’s qualities in the aftermath of a win over the Tractor Boys, Iraola suggested there will be some matches £123m summer signing Bradley Barcola does not feature in this season.

When asked about Gakpo’s mentality, Iraola added: “I think Cody knows how much we value him. I think there is no doubt. I rate him very highly.

“I will demand [a lot] of him, obviously. He has also strong competition for minutes because we have good players in those positions, and it’s a matter of pushing each other.

“Now with Bradley, with Rio, with Victor, it’s a matter of sometimes they will start, sometimes they will come from the bench, sometimes they will not play.

“But this competition, I think, is going to be good for our team.”

Iraola gives his first impressions on a new Liverpool signing

On his first impressions of Barcola, Iraola replied: “I think Bradley hadn’t played a single minute since the World Cup so we needed to be careful. I think he is training well, in a good place, and I think that he has helped us. Probably, we haven’t found him in a couple of situations where I think he was going against the ‘keeper, but we haven’t really seen his movements.

“And also he has had a very good counter, very good passing side that I think Cody finished, but we didn’t score. But he was always a threat, you know?

“When he carries the ball, I think you can feel this threat and I’m happy because I think 30 minutes is going to be good for his fitness, for his build-up, and we will continue because now we play a lot of games, so he will have a chance to play more.”

On fans needing to be patient with Barcola, Iraola continued: “I think it’s normal, he hasn’t played any pre-season minutes. I think he’s still in a good place. I don’t think he will need something like a very special build-up, but we have to be aware that he hasn’t been playing in a while and the demands of the games are very different from training, so we have got to consider this.”