Jurgen Klopp confirms star signing Cody Gakpo will DEFINITELY be involved against Wolves

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that £44m star signing Cody Gakpo is in contention to make his debut against Wolves in the FA Cup third round after impressing in his first two training sessions.

Gakpo joined Liverpool just after Christmas from PSV on a five-and-a-half-year deal after the Reds hijacked Man United’s attempts to get him to Old Trafford.

“Yes, he is in contention,” Klopp told the club’s website ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Wolves. ‘He will be involved in the team, of course. How exactly we’ll have to decide in the next few hours, but that’s okay.

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that star signing Cody Gakpo will be involved against Wolves

The new signing has impressed Klopp in training and the Liverpool manager said he will definitely play a role against Wolves.

First impressions of him are brilliant. With all these things, injured strikers and things like that, you see a guy who is obviously a natural footballer on the pitch and knows where the goal is, it’s an encouragement for everyone.

“So, that’s great and he’s going to be involved in some way, definitely.”

But in a bitter blow to the other end of the field, Klopp also confirmed that Virgil van Dijk has been sidelined for more than a month with a hamstring injury.

He said: ‘Virg is a big blow to us. In fact, I took it out; in the end, the diagnosis was quite harsh. Weeks – over a month – let’s hope it goes fast.

However, the Liverpool boss has been blessed with the return of Jordan Henderson to Reds midfield, who is fit to take on Wolves after recovering from concussion.

But Klopp faces a blow at the other end of the pitch with Virgil van Dijk facing more than a month out after picking up a hamstring injury against Brentford.

Klopp revealed that he will field a solid XI and that he can afford it due to the time his team has had to recover, having played last Monday.

“If you play Wednesday, Sunday, Tuesday you have to think about it” [rotation] but we play on Monday, so it’s clear that we will line up as well, as strong and as experienced as we can. There will be no rotation because of the competition,’ he added.

Liverpool will hope to bounce back from their dismal showing against Brentford with a cup win before traveling to Brighton in the Premier League next weekend.