If the general consensus claims Ryan Gravenberch to be the player most transformed by the arrival of Arne Slot, then Cody Gakpo cannot be too far behind his fellow Netherlands international.

Now approaching the two-year mark of his Liverpool arrival from PSV - which was agreed during three days of intense negotiation across Christmas Eve and Boxing Day between then sporting director Julian Ward and his counterpart Marcel Brands - there's an argument to be made that Gakpo has never been as important to the cause as he is right now.

Liverpool had not initially planned to bring in Gakpo at the turn of 2023 but were forced to expedite their plans when it became known that Erik ten Hag had wanted to land the Oranje international for Manchester United at the time.

READ MORE: Arne Slot could hand out Liverpool debut and Andy Robertson replacement first appearance for years

READ MORE: Liverpool without four players against Southampton as Arne Slot faces defensive crisis

Three goals in five World Cup outings for the Dutch at the 2022 Qatar World Cup had made plenty sit up and take note and with the then United boss Ten Hag keenly aware of Gakpo's ability in the Eredivisie, Ward was forced to sacrifice most of his festive period to beat the Red Devils to the punch.

Gakpo arrived at a club experiencing a difficult period and the attempts to reshape the left-winger into a more central operator in the forward line did not yield instant results, while former manager Jurgen Klopp even occasionally opted to use the attacker as the most advanced of the midfield three.

Gakpo repeatedly made little secret of the fact he thought he was best utilised on the left side of the attack, where he had risen to poster-boy status in Dutch football, but always insisted he was willing to play wherever Klopp asked.

It was a tactical misstep that Klopp later took the blame for, saying in one of his final press conferences: "I caused a little bit of a problem in a phase where we didn’t have midfielders, so I put him in midfield. That didn’t work out well - I thought it was alright but he couldn’t gain the confidence each player needs."

Speaking in April, Mohamed Salah also suggested that Gakpo's importance to the cause was being overlooked, admitting: "Cody doesn't get credit because the fans I don't know if they really understand his game or not. But he is a very, very clever player. I admire the way he thinks, it's very, very good."

It's been discussed, not least by the man himself, how Slot won the race to succeed Klopp due to the similarities in style of football, but the head coach has certainly put his own stamp on the team during his six months in charge, even if that hasn't extended to personnel yet. Player-wise, this is still very much the squad Klopp built but the minor alterations here and there are paid dividends presently.

Not least with Gakpo, who was instantly restored to his favoured position following the arrival of his compatriot at the start of June. Having seen how much the attacker thrived off the left of a front three during their time in the Eredivisie together, Slot had few qualms about ripping up Klopp's blueprints to turn the forward into a Roberto Firmino-lite 'false 9'.

There's an argument to be made that Gakpo's role has become much more simple under Slot than it was under Klopp, where he was asked to replicate what Firmino had contributed during a legendary Reds career that saw him star as a key player during a trophy-laden period, perfecting that particular brand of centre-forward play. It's something the former PSV man himself appears to subscribe to.

“Before I came to Liverpool I also played as a left winger. Then I came here and I started to play more as a central striker,” Gakpo told Men in Blazers last month. “At the Euros, I played as a left winger again. Then this season the new manager came in, I had a talk with him and [Slot] said: ‘You have to focus on the left winger position…this is your position when you come on or when you start’.

“Because he said there’s a lot of competition here, so you just have to show yourself. But he said, ‘that is going to be your position'. It felt a little bit, for me, like the old me, like what I did at PSV as well. I feel really good in this position. I try to show my best to everybody, what I’m capable of.

“I think I come into more one-v-ones now with my face towards the opponent, where I can really go inside and give a cross, shoot or go outside and give a cross – which is more my game, I would say, and where I think I can be really dangerous and help the team the most.”

Even with Diogo Jota sidelined for two months during a period when Darwin Nunez was the only recognised and natural 'No.9' in the squad, Slot eschewed the opportunity to reprise the central role for Gakpo, preferring instead to play Luis Diaz through the middle.

Colombia international Diaz led the line for the first time in the Premier League against Fulham on Saturday and marked his maiden outing at the tip of the attack with a hat-trick in a 4-0 Champions League demolition of Bayer Leverkusen in November too.

Meanwhile, Gakpo has remained in situ where his favourite position is concerned and is flourishing as a result. Seven goals in his last 10 appearances have included some important and timely strikes for a Reds side who lead both the Premier League and the Champions League as we edge ever close to Christmas. Now up to nine for the campaign, the challenge is to go and see how close he can get to the 20-goal barrier.

The opener against Manchester City, the game-clinching second against Real Madrid and the equaliser on Saturday have all been vitally important efforts in Liverpool's recent run of form, while his exertions in the Carabao Cup, where he leads the charts with four goals, is one of the main reasons the Reds head to Southampton on Wednesday night looking to secure a place in the last four.

The jockeying for the position on the left with Diaz will go on all season under Slot but it is Gakpo who appears to have the shirt just now.