Former Holland star Rafael van der Vaart says Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is to blame for Cody Gakpo's slow start in England.

Gakpo, who joined from PSV at the beginning of February, opened his Liverpool account on Monday night in the 2-0 win over Merseyside rivals Everton.

Van der Vaart told Ladbrokes: Fanzone: "The biggest surprise for me wasn't that Liverpool bought Cody Gakpo last month. Look, if you have the sort of tournament he did in Qatar, you're going to attract interest from a lot of top clubs.

"But, for me, they've signed a player who has played his whole career as a left-winger, and in the national team he's played as a number 10, a second striker... and now he's playing as a striker? He's not a striker!

"Cody needs space to play in, he needs to run with the ball, that's where he's most dangerous. That's the biggest issue he has at Liverpool, why are they playing him as a number nine? He's a left-winger who can cut inside and cause danger there."