Cody Gakpo vs. Luis Diaz: A Comparison

Liverpool have two very good options on the left in the Dutch and Colombia internationals. Does one have an advantage over the other?
West Ham United FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League
West Ham United FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League | Harry Murphy - Danehouse/GettyImages


Arne Slot has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, not least on the left side of attack.

Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz have competed and improved each other over the last few seasons and here we compare the two dynamic attackers to see who Slot could lead the line with on opening day and beyond.

The Facts

Cody Gakpo

Age - 26

Born - Holland

National caps - 40

National goals - 15

Major honours - 4

Liverpool apps - 128

Liverpool goals - 41

Daniel Munoz, Luis Diaz
Liverpool FC v Crystal Palace FC - Premier League | Sebastian Frej/GettyImages

Luis Diaz

Age - 28

Born - Colombia

National caps - 64

National goals - 19

Major honours - 7

Liverpool apps - 148

Liverpool goals - 41

With the exact same amount of goals, Gakpo and Diaz are incredibly similar. Diaz has slightly more experience both overall and at Liverpool but Gakpo has burst onto the scene under Slot and looks the slightly more potent forward.

The style of play

Gakpo - Cody Gakpo is a fluid forward, with versatility across the entire front three. Klopp attempted to use him as a more central striker didn't perhaps get the best out of the Dutchman, but last season he really exploded.

Slot saw more value in his favored left sided position, a spot where he excelled in the European Championships for Holland the previous summer.

Adam Magri Overend, Cody Gakpo, Matthew Guillaumier
Holland v Malta -World Cup Qualifier | Soccrates Images/GettyImages

He is best known for patient probing, before cutting inside and striking with his right foot. He is also useful in the air, with a few very solid headed goals for Liverpool so far in his career.

Diaz - Luis Diaz was pretty much exclusively a winger in his first three seasons with the Reds before a breakthrough in the number nine role last season.

Although perhaps plagued with inconsistent performances, Diaz also had his best season at Anfield last year, with thirteen goals, more than he'd managed across both previous seasons.

A ball carrier primarly, the Colombian loves to drive with the ball and get his side up the pitch. Diaz has also continued to improve his own versatility recently, with a string of headed goals and clever first time finishes.

The new teammates

Gakpo - Cody will perhaps relish the arrival of Milos Kerkez more than his Colombian counterpart due to the left back's constant overlaps. This will allow the space inside that Gakpo thrives on.

Florian Wirtz is a marquee signing which benefits Liverpool all over the park. Gakpo will undoubtedly get more space to operate with defenses giving more attention to his new German teammate, thus allowing him to exploit and create goalscoring opportunities.

Diaz - Diaz may not feed off the extra space inside as much but the benefit of a left side overload with Kerkez will allow Diaz to make more of his trademark dribbles, using his new Hungarian teammate as a decoy.

Wirtz also provides more opportunity for Diaz to run in behind, with the German playmaker more than capable at providing the killer pass for the Colombian to get in on goal.