Jamie Carragher: Gakpo's Form Challenges Barcola's Minutes at Liverpool
Liverpool’s new £123m signing Bradley Barcola might have to wait his turn. Jamie Carragher thinks he could be waiting a while.
On a sharp, efficient night at Portman Road, Liverpool finally looked like a side ready to accelerate their season. A 2-0 win over Ipswich Town, their first victory of the campaign, came with a familiar story: Cody Gakpo at the heart of almost everything good.
Two goals in nine first-half minutes from Alexander Isak settled the contest and calmed any early nerves after back-to-back 2-2 draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. Ipswich had their moments, racking up 14 shots, but Liverpool never truly lost control once they struck first. The attack, for the first time this season, clicked.
And right in the middle of that surge was Gakpo.
Gakpo turns it on, Carragher turns up the heat
The Netherlands international delivered two moments of real class to carve Ipswich open, his highlight a gorgeous outside-of-the-boot through ball that sliced the home defence apart and sent Isak racing clear for Liverpool’s second.
That single pass said plenty about where Gakpo’s game is right now. Confident. Inventive. Brave on the ball.
It also sparked a pointed reaction from Carragher, watching on and then heading straight to social media to fire a warning shot in Barcola’s direction.
“Barcola is going to struggle to get a game with this version of Gakpo,” the former Liverpool defender posted on X.
No caveats. No soft landing. Just a blunt assessment of the battle that now awaits Barcola, the marquee arrival from Paris Saint-Germain, as he tries to break into Andoni Iraola’s front line.
Interest resisted, faith rewarded
Liverpool had options with Gakpo this summer. Interest from Manchester City and Tottenham was real, but the club chose to hold firm and keep him at Anfield. On this evidence, that decision already looks justified.
Gakpo was one of Liverpool’s standout performers in pre-season and has carried that form into the early weeks of the campaign. The trust from the club has been matched by his influence on the pitch.
Virgil van Dijk, now captain and Gakpo’s compatriot, did not bother to hide his admiration after the win at Ipswich.
“Cody was outstanding. He’s important for us and he will be important this season as well,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “He showed it today, last week as well with the assist and over the last couple of years.”
Those words matter. Van Dijk does not hand out praise lightly, and his verdict underlines just how central Gakpo has become to Liverpool’s attacking identity.
For Barcola, that is the size of the challenge. He has arrived for a huge fee, with huge expectations. But right now, there is no obvious place to dislodge Gakpo.
Isak steps up as Iraola’s ‘massive player’
If Gakpo provided the craft, Isak supplied the finish. The Sweden international endured a frustrating first season after his big move from Newcastle United, injuries repeatedly halting any rhythm. At Portman Road, he looked like a forward finally running free.
Two goals, both clinically taken, gave Iraola exactly what he has been demanding from his number nine.
“He’s a massive player for us,” the Liverpool boss said. “My demands will probably not be about the goals. I know he is fit and in good shape. He’s going to produce the numbers.
“My fight with him will be more about other stuff, how to help the team in other situations – but it is good he has already played two full games, scoring the goals, so I am very happy to have him.”
Isak himself sounded like a man who believes this is just the start.
“We were waiting for the first win,” he said. “We talked about starting the game good, which we haven’t done recently, so it was perfect for us to get two good quick goals.
“With a normal pre-season, I think we are starting to get to the way we want to play. To be offensive and attack the defence. I think we did that. We scored two, and we could have scored more.”
Barcola’s dilemma
All of this leaves Barcola in a curious spot. Liverpool have spent big to bring him from PSG, a statement of intent for the future. But the present belongs to players already in stride.
Gakpo is creating and dictating. Isak is scoring and sharpening. The system is beginning to hum before Barcola has even kicked a competitive ball for the club.
Carragher’s line will sting, but it reflects the reality of elite squads: price tags don’t guarantee minutes, performances do. If “this version of Gakpo” sticks around, Barcola’s route into the starting XI will run through one of the in-form players in the league.
For Liverpool, that is a good problem. For Barcola, it is the standard he now has to hit.
