‘He will make Liverpool stronger’ – Slot predecessor believes Reds could upgrade on £42m dynamo | OneFootball

One of Arne Slot’s predecessors as Feyenoord manager has advised the Liverpool head coach to consider signing a current star of the Rotterdam club.

Since the 46-year-old took charge at Anfield last summer, the Reds have unsurprisingly been linked with a number of players at De Kuip. One of those is Igor Paixao, the winger who was reportedly scouted by Merseyside staff towards the end of 2024.

The left-sided forward is enjoying a quite productive campaign in Netherlands, with 11 goals and 15 assists in 38 matches this term, and he enjoyed a performance from his ages in his team’s recent 6-2 drubbing of FC Twente as he netted a hat-trick and set up two other goals (Transfermarkt).

Liverpool advised to sign winger who’s ‘better’ than Gakpo

In an interview with 1908.nl, ex-Feyenoord boss Rob Jacobs was advocating a move to Liverpool for the 24-year-old when it was pointed out to him that the Brazilian would be competing with Cody Gakpo for a starting berth.

Undeterred, he proclaimed: “Then I’ll go for Paixao. I really think he will make Liverpool stronger. Arne Slot should also enjoy his development. Gakpo is also a fantastic player of course and is doing well at Liverpool, but I think Paixao is better.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Liverpool would report to Feyenoord. Hey, €40m or €50m? They don’t make a fuss about that in England. He is getting better every day. Incredibly goal-oriented, he is the most dangerous man at Feyenoord.

“He scores magnificent goals. It’s not normal how he scores! That’s how you punish a mistake – pure class. He was not in the pre-selection of Brazil for nothing.”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Would Paixao really be an upgrade on Gakpo for Liverpool?

If Liverpool were to swoop for Paixao for the €50m (£41.8m) that Jacobs mentioned, it’d effectively mirror the £42m acquisition of Gakpo shortly after the 2022 World Cup, since which the 25-year-old has netted 39 goals in 119 appearances for the Reds.

Whilst the Feyenoord winger has more overall goal contributions than his Anfield counterpart, the Netherlands international has scored more often this season (16 so far) and had been in fine form over the winter before injuries checked his momentum in February.

Our number 18 has also accrued that higher goal tally in 1,000 fewer minutes than his counterpart at De Kuip, and in a domestic league of superior quality as well, something that even Slot has acknowledged.

As per FBref, Paixao has had a higher rate of shots on target per 90 minutes than Gakpo (47.7% to 38.6%), but again that margin should be considered in the context of the divisions in which they’re playing.

The Feyenoord winger could well be a decent squad option at Liverpool, but we must respectfully disagree with Jacobs’ claim that the Brazilian would be an upgrade on the Reds forward.