Cody Gakpo Discusses Preseason and His First Full Liverpool Campaign

Cody Gakpo was among the second round of players to return to Liverpool to begin training for the 2023-24 preseason. The Dutch player arrived this past winter and was a bright spot in an otherwise dull campaign for the Reds. This is his first full preseason training period and season with the team, and he is excited to get started.

Speaking to the official site, Gakpo said, “I think everybody has the same mindset at the moment: we really want to achieve something this year again. That’s the target and we will train hard for that.“

After winning the domestic double in the 2021-22 season — and nearly taking the unprecedented quadruple — ending last season languishing in the Europa League spots and with no trophy to add to their collection was a disappointment. Gakpo and his teammates will want to prove that this was a blip on their continued path to success.

“We ended, I think, the campaign pretty good with a nice run of winning games,” he said, “and I hope we start there again and do that for the whole season: win prizes together and show everybody how good we are.

“For me personally, [my aims are] just working hard, keep improving and helping the team as much as I can: to really have an impact by scoring goals, giving assists, helping the team, working hard with the result of winning games.”

It would be nice if Gakpo himself also picked up where he left off. He scored seven goals and earned two assists in the 21 appearances he made for Liverpool since his arrival. If he could keep that good form, it will go a long way towards remaking the front three.