Gakpo needs goal ‘off his backside’ to get going for Liverpool as Fowler backs Dutch forward to come good

• Reds invested £44m in Netherlands international
• Still waiting on his first goal
• Klopp's side struggling for consistency

WHAT HAPPENED? The Reds invested heavily in the Netherlands international’s potential at the start of the January transfer window, with a £44 million ($55m) deal taking the highly-rated 23-year-old from PSV to Anfield. Gakpo is yet to open his account for Liverpool, having hit 34 goals across his last 18 months in Eindhoven, and Fowler believes a slice of luck is required in order for the hard-working forward to start delivering on expectations.

WHAT THEY SAID: Legendary former Reds frontman Fowler has told the Liverpool Echo of Gakpo: “You give him a little bit of time to settle and get used to a new environment, a new league, a new country and I am sure he'll be a player that we all want to see, scoring goals. I am a striker and I think at one particular point something will bounce in for him. Whether that is off his backside, or off his knee and I know that is an incredibly cliched answer but sometimes you need a bit of luck. That's not just him but that's the club as whole, they could all use a little bit of luck at the moment. So it is not on Gakpo, there are others as well. Maybe he has found it tough but there's no doubt that the work behind the scenes will be continuing.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Gakpo has taken in five appearances for Liverpool so far, with two of those coming in the Premier League, and he has been asked to shift between roles on the flanks and down the middle as he looks to find his feet in the most demanding of new surroundings.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Liverpool, who have slipped out of both domestic cup competitions in 2022-23 and down to ninth in the Premier League table, will be back in action on Saturday when taking in a trip to Wolves.