Cesc Fabregas praises 'dangerous' Liverpool star posing Arne Slot question at Euro 2024

Former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has praised Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo after an impressive start to the European Championship with the Netherlands.

Gakpo scored against Poland on matchday one and was then his nation's biggest threat against France yesterday. But after signing for Liverpool from PSV around 18 months ago, his full potential is yet to be unlocked at Anfield.

Starting last season playing in midfield, Gakpo has mainly been used as a false nine up to now with Liverpool. But in the Eredivisie, he excelled while playing off the left flank where he was a regular scorer and creator which is what drew Jurgen Klopp's attention in the first place.

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"He played well in the last game," former Spain international Fabregas said live on air while working as part of the BBC's Euro 2024 coverage. "He is a threat. I think he’s a functional player.

"What I’ve seen from him at Liverpool, it seems he’s the type of player who needs to be told constantly what to do. He’s got great ability. He’s not the most creative player, but he’s dangerous, has an eye for goal, good movement, attacks the space well, tries a one-vs-one and you can see his big improvement in the tournament.

"You see here he could have scored more than one or two goals in the last game. Good goal [against Poland], hitting the target, bit lucky in the end [with a] deflection but getting [into] difficult positions in front of goal to attack the space as well. He should be key for the Dutch team."

Liverpool.com says: There is definitely more to come from Gakpo in a Liverpool shirt and it will be really interesting to see what Arne Slot does with him. The 24-year-old might be best coming off the left for the Reds as well but Luis Diaz, assuming he is still at Liverpool next season, will have something to say about that.

Even if both are vying for the left wing spot, though, there will be more than enough minutes to go around. With the expanded Champions League format coming into play, Liverpool will need more depth in its squad than ever before.