While Gakpo excelled as the focal point of Liverpool’s attack last season, his performances as an emergency midfielder in the current campaign have left much to be desired.

Gakpo had already shown his knack for rising to the occasion with Liverpool. In a pre-season match against Bayern Munich earlier this month, he wasted no time in making an impact, scoring a fine goal less than two minutes into the game after receiving a pass from Diogo Jota.

This was further evidence of his effectiveness, as he had already displayed his intent in the opening pre-season friendly against Karlsruhe. In that match, he controlled a header from Jota and swiveled to fire a shot into the top corner during the second half. He also played a key role in setting up Jota for a goal during injury time.

While Gakpo primarily played as the spearhead of the attack last season, making 15 of his 17 Premier League starts in that role after joining from PSV Eindhoven, the shortage of midfield options forced him to take up a left-sided position in the engine room during the summer.

Due to a lack of selection choices, Jurgen Klopp started the current Premier League campaign with Gakpo in a deeper midfield role, while Jota, Mohamed Salah, and Luis Diaz took on the attacking roles.

However, Gakpo’s impact has been limited in this new role. In both matches, he had fewer touches than any other Liverpool starter, partially due to his early substitutions. His effectiveness in the final third has also been hampered, with only two key passes and no shots on target in these matches. Last season, across 50 club games for PSV and Liverpool, Gakpo registered 20 goals and 20 assists.

The upcoming fixture against Newcastle United presents an opportunity for Gakpo to return to his preferred attacking role, with new signing Wataru Endo and the fit-again Stefan Bajcetic vying for a starting spot in defensive midfield. This would allow Alexis Mac Allister to move into the more advanced midfield role that Gakpo has occupied in the past two weeks.

Gakpo has fond memories of his previous trip to Newcastle in February when he scored as a central forward in Liverpool’s 2-0 win. Darwin Nunez, who scored the opening goal, played on the left.

However, a challenge for the 24-year-old is that all three starting forwards found the net against Bournemouth, with Jota, currently playing in the center of the attack, also playing a crucial role in Diaz’s equalizer in the 3-1 win. It would be a significant decision for Klopp to rotate the Portuguese forward out of the team.

Therefore, Gakpo may need to be patient before he gets another chance to lead the forward line. Nevertheless, it won’t be long before he has an opportunity to demonstrate why he is considered Roberto Firmino’s natural successor as a false number nine