Cody Gakpo is starting to show why Liverpool should consider cashing in on Barcelona target Luis Diaz.

Cody Gakpo admitted towards the end of last season that he was “curious” to see what plans Arne Slot had in store for Liverpool. He is certainly not alone in this regard. There’s a huge amount of uncertainty swirling around Anfield at the moment, and no one really knows what to expect from the post-Jurgen Klopp era.

Winning the Carabao Cup with kids and securing a return to the Champions League in his final season at the helm, the German certainly left Liverpool in poor health. The return of ‘laptop guru’ Michael Edwards and the appointment of the highly regarded Richard Hughes as the club’s new sporting director have also reinforced the belief that the Reds can build a new winning team on the solid foundations Klopp left behind them. What’s more, Slot has already proven he can upset richer rivals with a smaller budget in his native Netherlands.

However, the Dutchman is undeniably an unknown at the top level, while doubts remain over the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold – all of whom have just one year left on their current contracts. It’s also unclear what Slot wants to do with the enigmatic Darwin Nunez, while Luis Diaz remains the subject of incessant transfer talk.

What is clear, however, is that Gakpo should be given a major role to play in the new era – and in his favored position on Liverpool’s left flank.