Cody Gakpo: Liverpool shirt numbers available to £37m star
Liverpool are on course to seal the signing of PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo in January, having agreed a deal worth an initial £37m – rising to £50m with add-ons, for the Netherlands star.
Gakpo was wanted by Leeds and Southampton during the summer, but Manchester United had been leading the race for the 23-year-old until Liverpool swooped in.
The player had a breakout campaign with PSV in 2021/22, scoring 21 times in all competitions. So far this season, he has been directly involved in 30 goals (12 goals, 17 assists) in 30 club appearances. He also found the net three times for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Gakpo, who was a major reason why PSV tore Premier League leaders Arsenal to pieces in a Europa League game in October, has primarily played on the left flank at club level. But he showed versatility by operating centrally as either a ‘number nine’ or ‘number 10’ at the World Cup.
At Liverpool, his most likely initial route into the team is on the left where Luis Diaz is currently sidelined and not expected back until March.
What shirt number will Cody Gakpo wear for Liverpool?
Gakpo has pre-existing connections to a handful of shirt numbers, although none are options for him at Liverpool because they are all currently occupied.
Since 2021, Gakpo has made number 11 his own at PSV. At Liverpool, it belongs to Mohamed Salah. He wore number eight at the World Cup, which is taken at Anfield by Naby Keita. The player also established himself at PSV wearing 19, belonging to Harvey Elliott on Merseyside.
Gakpo has additionally been known to wear both nine and seven for the Netherlands, neither of which are vacant options at Liverpool as things stands.
The realistic shirt numbers available at Liverpool are 10, 12, 16, 18, 24 and 25, which Gakpo will be breaking new personal ground having never worn any of them in his career to date.
10 is perhaps the most obvious choice for a big money forward, left empty since Sadio Mane's move to Bayern Munich. The number 12 was vacated by Joe Gomez in summer when he switched to number two, while 18 was worn by another recent January addition, Takumi Minamino, who has since left. Curiously, 25 hasn’t been worn by anyone since Pepe Reina last played for Liverpool in 2013.