‘New lease of life’ – Liverpool legend salutes resurgent Reds ace after ‘kick up the backside’
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John Aldridge has welcome the ‘new lease of life’ that Cody Gakpo is enjoying at Liverpool since the start of this season.The Dutchman shipped widespread criticism throughout a difficult 2025/26 campaign in which he scored only nine times, and towards the end of the summer it looked as though he could be on his way out to Manchester City.However, the Reds ultimately decided against selling the 27-year-old, who’s rewarded that faith with a goal and three assists to begin the new season under Andoni Iraola.Aldridge: Gakpo has had a ‘new lease of life’ at LiverpoolIn his latest column for the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge praised the impact that Gakpo has made in recent weeks and suggested that the near-exit to the Etihad Stadium may have provded our number 18 with added motivation.The former Reds striker wrote: ‘Cody Gakpo looks like he has a new lease of Liverpool life this season – and long may it continue.‘We know broadly what happened towards the end of the transfer window, when it looked like was going to be joining Manchester City in a deal worth £85m, but it was decided that Gakpo would be staying put and maybe it’s given him a kick up the backside?(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)‘He has been as good as anyone in a Liverpool shirt since the season started and his two assists on Friday night at Ipswich were fantastic.‘He’s a quality player, we have known that for a number of years, but it feels as though he is determined to make up for lost time after a tough campaign for everyone concerned last time out.‘That’s three assists and an excellent goal against Newcastle to his name now and he seems to be developing a nice partnership with Isak, whose movement has helped him for all three of those goals.’Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustLiverpool benefitting greatly from Gakpo’s resurgenceEven Gakpo’s most ardent backers would admit that he was nowhere near his best in 2025/26, but thankfully he’s put that firmly behind him with a flying start to this campaign, setting up all three of Alexander Isak’s goals in the past couple of games.A positive World Cup in which he netted three times may have helped the winger to regain his confidence, even amid the personal tragedy of losing his unborn son in June, and the thought of losing him to Man City just before the transfer deadline was chilling.Thankfully the Anfield hierarchy saw sense and ultimately refused to sell the 27-year-old, who even with the signings of Victor Munoz and Bradley Barcola is making himself impossible to omit from the starting XI.Gakpo’s game-time might become slightly more rationed once Liverpool enter a regular diet of three matches per week in the autumn, but his early-season performances have put him in with every chance of being one of the first names on the teamsheet.If indeed the Dutchman had a ‘kick up the backside’ in recent weeks, it’s certainly having the desired effect for the Reds on the pitch.
As Aldridge says, long may it continue.