Gakpo 2.0: Liverpool now eyeing “one of the best young talents in football”

Arne Slot would have been delighted when he led Liverpool to the Premier League title last season in spite of FSG’s reluctance to wield their purse after Jurgen Klopp packed up and left.

Who can say the Dutch coach needs a wide range of signings? He bagged gold without any real investment last year. Now, though, the tactical mastermind is being handsomely rewarded.

A range of impactful signings have already been made, with Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz strengthening the frontline. Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have refreshed the full-back ranks. Giorgi Mamardashvili joins Alisson Becker between the sticks.

Liverpool’s next transfer target

Attacking additions usually draw the biggest acclaim. But Liverpool also need a centre-back, and this became clear after the vested interest in Dean Huijsen was made known.

But Huijsen has signed for Real Madrid in a £50m deal, joining Trent Alexander-Arnold. Thus, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has turned his attention to Marc Guehi, though the Crystal Palace defender is also on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar, with the Londoners currently weighing up an official bid.

If Liverpool don’t sign the Three Lions star, it seems they have identified Ajax sensation Jorrel Hato as the man to complete Slot’s backline, with transfer insider Ben Jacobs confirming the teenager is on the shortlist.

Hato is also in Chelsea’s sights, and it is the Blues who lead the race at this stage. However, Liverpool could steal ahead should they mount a concerted effort, with a shrewd £40m price tag floating about.

Why Liverpool should sign Jorrel Hato

With Ibrahima Konate‘s future uncertain, Real Madrid lurking and the Frenchman just one year away from free agency, it feels like bringing in a centre-back is a matter of urgency this summer.

Especially as Jarell Quansah left for Bayer Leverkusen in a £35m package last month.

Hato might only be 19, but he’s already emerged as one of Ajax’s leading players, playing 111 senior matches for the Dutch giants and earning six caps for the Netherlands national team.

His fast-track rise to stardom – Hato has been hailed as “one of the best young talents in football” by U23 scout Antonio Mango – and versatility suggest he could be Liverpool’s next version of Cody Gakpo, who also joined the Anfield side directly from the Dutch Eredivisie.

Gakpo, 25, signed for Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven for £35m in January 2023, and he has since become one of the staples of a trophy-winning Reds side, with pundit Peter Crouch even claiming he had “gone up a level” in Slot’s system last season.

Last season, he scored 18 goals and supplied seven assists for the Premier League champions, maturing in a fixed role coming off the attacking left flank.

Hato could emulate his countryman, with his dynamic positional qualities sure to see Slot shuffle him about before he grows into his skin in England and establishes himself as one of the Premier League’s leading centre-halves.

The defensive phenom might not have played in his natural central role all that much throughout the 2024/25 season, but he still finished ranked among the top 1% of positional peers for pass completion and the top 12% for aerial duels won per 90, as per FBref, thus illustrating his properties that are well suited for the position.

Though Hato is an unrefined gem, he is a jewel all the same. And Slot has demonstrated across the past 12 months his capacity to lift his countrymen – Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch – up and up into the upper sphere of European stars.

With Hato, he can repeat the trick, coaxing the player into a starring role over the next few years.