Liverpool keen on “magical” £149m Gakpo upgrade

Jurgen Klopp’s shock exit created unavoidable anxiety during the off-season, sneaking slippery tendrils through Merseyside doors as this unknown coach alighted in Liverpool from Holland.

We can all chuckle ruefully now, ay? Arne Slot has been a revelation, surely power-ranked as the standout manager of the 2024/25 campaign as Liverpool push toward the Premier League title and top the Champions League group stage too.

To be sure, the Reds could have done more in the transfer market, only signing Federico Chiesa, who was pushed out of Juventus and listed for a bargain £12.5m fee.

But FSG kept their finger off the trigger and instead doubled down on their watchword: prudence. In fairness, it’s all gone rather swimmingly thus far, but Anfield does need to see some first-team investment in 2025, lest this wonderful knitting of players fizzle out and allow rivals to catch up.

Liverpool interested in elite-level forward

It’s important to differentiate prudence from precaution, and Liverpool will at some stage need to fork out a significant sum for a talented footballer capable of elevating Slot’s system to a new level.

Well, according to Caught Offside, Liverpool still hold an interest in Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala, but recent developments suggest that curiosity must be willed into something more concrete.

Indeed, Manchester City are also fixed admirers of the German playmaker, and given that Kevin De Bruyne’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, it makes sense for Pep Guardiola to target Musiala as the centrepiece of his much-needed rebuild.

Moreover, Bayern are hoping to tie the 21-year-old down to a bumper new deal and are optimistic about their chances. Were they to let Musiala leave, the German giants would be fielding offers worth roughly €180m (£149m).

Imagine Jamal Musiala at Slot’s Liverpool

Musiala has built himself up to elite-level merit over the past few years at the Allianz Arena, becoming a key part of Bayern’s first team and dazzling on numerous occasions with the German national team.

In terms of positioning, Musiala is something of a jack-of-all-trades, invariably deadly through goalscoring or creating and conjuring up moments of wizardry.

It’s no surprise that he’s been hailed for his “magical” ball-playing qualities by presenter Gary Lineker after lighting it up at Euro 2024, scoring three goals across five matches and averaging 2.6 dribbles and 6.6 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore.

Chelsea’s one-time youth prospect has made startling progress since Bayern snapped him up, aged 16, for a nominal fee, amassing 185 appearances in total and notching 94 goal contributions.

Were Liverpool to sign him – ahead of rivals Man City – it’s likely that Musiala’s crackling pace and power would be used on the left flank, especially with Luis Diaz reaching a contractual impasse and potentially being sold in the next year or two.

In any case, Musiala would likely need to jockey with the currently in-form Cody Gakpo, but given his completeness and flair, the Bavarian sensation might actually prove to be an upgrade.

No disrespect to Gakpo, who is a fantastic footballer, but Musiala outstrips him across almost every noteworthy metric, endowed as he is with supreme athleticism and balletic poise.

Musiala has a doe’s grace, a lion’s ferocity and a fox’s cunning, the various facets sort of wrapping together to create something marvellous. Something elite.

Further to the point, Musiala’s feints and off-the-ball movements set him apart from your run-of-the-mill trickster. In fact, the 6 foot star would assume the role that Gakpo forfeited last season in playing across the field.

Gakpo did this without complaint under Klopp’s leadership but is clearly at his best when situated on the left flank. Musiala, however, maintains a clinical output regardless of his role, as evidenced by his positional table above.

Regarding Gakpo, Slot’s hardly going to be displeased with his options on the left flank. The 25-year-old has scored ten goals and supplied four assists across all competitions this term, and that’s while registering just 15 starts.

The £120k-per-week ace, however, has been streamlined into a goalscoring force under Slot’s wing, which has served him well in his fight to enter the ascendency.

That said, when considering his skillset against Musiala’s, it’s clear that the German brings the more expansive and stylish style of play, something that could give Liverpool the most incredible of dynamic injections on the left, pumping more creativity and energy into a frontline already established as one of Europe’s finest.

Liverpool would hit the biggest of jackpots if they were to seal this deal, taking Slot’s project to the next level and confirming to the footballing world that Anfield is here to stay as a powerhouse.

Man City would love to sign him themselves to help phase out De Bruyne, and if we’re being honest, the most likely scenario does seem to be a renewal in Germany.

But if Liverpool were to succeed in their bid, they’d land one of the best forwards in the world. He’s better than Gakpo, and that’s certainly not to the Dutchman’s detriment. That says it all, really.