Former Premier League icon Rafael van der Vaart believes Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo could be ‘the future’ of the Dutch national team.
Scoring three goals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar shortly before his £37 million move to Anfield, if the former PSV Eindhoven captain is ‘the future’, then he’s coming in pretty handy for the Netherlands in the present too.
Van der Vaart, however, believes that the best is still to come.
Alongside RB Leipzig phenomenon Xavi Simons and Noa Lang – the one-time Leeds United target who took Cody Gakpo’s place on the left of the PSV attack – Van der Vaart expects to see the Liverpool speedster become even more of a leading figure for the Oranje in the near future.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has impressive Dutch record
“I’ve said it before, those three (Xavi, Lang and Gakpo) have a lot of potential,” the former Real Madrid, Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur star tells De Telegraaf.
“Maybe the European Championships in Germany (in 2024) will come a little too early for them to really peak. But, in the long term, things look really good for these guys. As far as I’m concerned, they really form the future of the Dutch team.”
The challenge facing Holland boss Ronald Koeman, however, is to find a way to field Gakpo, Lang and Xavi in the same XI, while ensuring the talented trio do not end up stamping on each other’s toes.
Eight goasl in 19 caps
“The only thing is that all three of them like to play from the left,” Van der Vaart adds.
That may be true – Gakpo’s best performances at club level have come when cutting in onto his right foot – but it should not be forgotten that the Liverpool attacker led the line to excellent effect for the Netherlands in Qatar.
In fact, almost half of his eight goals for the national team came during last year’s World Cup.
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