Van Der Vaart Blames Klopp for Gakpo’s Slow Start at Liverpool

• Cody Gakpo's impressive seasons at PSV Eindhoven and outing in Qatar earned him a move to Liverpool
• He scored his first goal in the 2-0 Merseyside side derby win over Everton after blanking his first seven games
• A Netherlands legend has now issued a verbal attack on the Reds manager for the player's initial struggles

Liverpool are experiencing one of their poorest seasons under Jurgen Klopp.

The Reds are ninth on the Premier League table and have been eliminated from both domestic cups which they won last season.

The team has been hit with a spate of injuries to key men, while new signings, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo are struggling to adapt and are not finding the back of the net regularly.

The Dutch star is the most recent signing, having joined in the January transfer window for £44 million after an impressive World Cup outing with the Netherlands in Qatar, as reported by Sky Sports.

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Van Der Vaart lambastes Klopp

Jurgen Klopp is in his seventh season at Anfield and has struggled to help his team replicate the performance that made them one of the best teams in Europe years back. He has now received criticism for the way he handled Gakpo's adaptation.

Dutch legend, Rafael Van Der Vaart - a known public critic - has hit out at the German for the way he deployed his compatriot, in an interview recirculated by Express.

''They've signed a player who has played his whole career as a left-winger, and in the national team, he's played as a number 10, a second striker... and now he's playing as a striker? He's not a striker!'' Van Der Vaart exclaimed.

Van Nistelrooy reveals Gakpo's dream

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Sports Brief earlier reported on PSV manager and former player, Ruud Van Nistelrooy revealing Manchester United was Gakpo's dream club.

He also revealed the player had refused his advice before sealing the move to Anfield, instead listening to Dutch captain, Virgil van Dijk.

Gakpo reveals Man United interest

Sports Brief also reported that Gakpo discussed he was close to joining Manchester United last summer before his move to Liverpool after the World Cup.

However, he denied claims by former manager, van Nistelrooy, that United was his dream move and said his dream was simply to join a big football club.

Gakpo also confirmed he was advised to wait until the end of the season to see if the Red Devils would return with an offer, but he couldn't resist moving to England.