Being adaptable can sometimes be a blessing as well as a problem. And throughout Cody Gakpo’s season, supporting the club occasionally got in the way of his Liverpool growth.

After joining from PSV Eindhoven in January of the previous year, Gakpo had a great finish to his debut term as the first-choice center attacker going into the campaign.

A successful warm-up regimen ensued. However, because to Liverpool’s selection and availability problems, the Dutchman had to start the season in central midfield. And that was the beginning of a patchy run of play in which he scored just twice in the Premier League before to the New Year.

Gakpo only started five top-flight games as the center striker until mid-February, which contributed significantly to that. The Dutchman found comfort in other tournaments, chief among them the League Cup, in which Gakpo scored in every match against Chelsea as well as in victories over Bournemouth, West Ham United, Fulham, and Leicester City.

However, Gakpo’s relative availability—he missed just four games the entire season—started to wear on his physical and mental stamina during that Wembley trip. Gakpo started games on the left flank and, in the event that Mohamed Salah was not available, on the right, in addition to center forward and midfield. It was understandably hard to be consistent.

“It was more my fault, Cody had a bit of a struggle,” former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stated in February. “We discussed whether Cody could play midfield for us, and the answer is that he can at some times. Is that his role? No, in my opinion.

He can certainly play the attacking portion of the role, but you could tell that he struggled at times with the defensive aspects of it since they were unfamiliar to him.

“The youngster arrived here and was flying pretty much right away, but then all of a sudden you saw that things weren’t quite the same. Things like this do occur.”

Gakpo’s situation worsened before improving, not the least of which was a lackluster cameo against Manchester United in the FA Cup quarterfinal. This led to discussions with Klopp, which produced a far better finish to the season. In his final eight league games, Gakpo scored three goals and provided two assists, unseating Darwin Nunez for the starting number nine position.

In fact, the forward was greatly missed in the miserable Merseyside derby loss at Everton, which virtually put an end to aspirations of winning the Premier League title, in the one game he was forced to miss because his partner went into labor.

Gakpo finished the season as well as any of his teammates after such a trying campaign, and he will be hoping to carry that momentum into the European Championships with Holland. Moreover, the return to form is especially welcome given the appointment of fellow countryman Arne Slot as head coach, whether it is in Gakpo’s two highly favored positions—down the left or the center.

While fellow forwards Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, and Nunez have recently raised doubts about their long-term prospects for various reasons, Gakpo is once again seen as a player who might play a significant role for Liverpool. Having recently turned 25, if he plays to his greatest abilities, of course, the upcoming season looks to be a huge one.

Season finale grade: 6