Dirk Kuyt wants Liverpool to sign two players he coached

Dirk Kuyt has backed Cody Gakpo to become the latest Dutch player to enjoy long-term success at Liverpool

During the opening 14 league matches of PSV’s 2022/23 season, the 23-year-old had scored nine times while registering 12 assists. Following up this form at the World Cup in Qatar

Kuyt followed the very same path from the Netherlands to Liverpool back in 2006 after leaving Feyenoord.

Dirk Kuyt said:

"It was great he signed for Liverpool, I watched him a lot in the Eredivisie and everyone could see he was a top-quality player. He had a great World Cup, scoring a few goals, and he deserved his transfer to Liverpool. This move made me very happy.”

All too aware of the challenges that come with swapping the Eredivisie for the Premier League, Kuyt has insisted he always knew Gakpo’s class would eventually shine through.

Kuyt continued:

“I think the expectations for him are very high and he has already shown his quality in several games,” stated the 42-year-old. “A few people are expecting him to do that every week, but I don’t think that is fair because it is a huge step to come from the Eredivisie to the Premier League and I think I can judge that because I made the same step.

“When I joined Liverpool back in the day, I lost six kilos in weight because of the intensity of the league. Cody came here in the middle of the season and had to adapt to a new team and division, so it is not fair to judge him straight away.

“The main challenge is the intensity: the tempo in the game is much higher and the players you play against are more physical,” continued Kuyt when explaining the main differences between the two leagues.

“A lot of young players get the opportunity to play matches in Holland, which is great, but you play with and against the best players in the world in the Premier League. When you play at Liverpool, people expect you to be the best every day and that’s even the case with Mohamed Salah, people still judge him when he doesn’t score. That says everything about the pressure these players have to deal with. If one player can do it, I think it’s Cody.”

“I am a Feyenoord man and they are doing very well at the moment,” he said with a wide smile on his face. "They have a very good manager in Arne Slot and some of the younger guys like Orkun Kokcu and Lutsharel Geertruida are knocking on the door and playing very well. It won’t take long for the interest of top European teams to be there for them. I hope Liverpool is interested in Feyenoord players, and I am an example it can work!

“When I was working as under-19s coach, Kokcu and Geertruida were in my team at the time. At Ajax you now have the likes of Jurrien Timber and Kenneth Taylor, who we were playing against. You know who the talented players are and you can see they are going to have big futures. Gakpo was a great talent and everyone knew from watching him at youth level that he would one day play for a club like Liverpool.