The fact that a rising star at PSV is following in Cody Gakpo’s footsteps and has already overtaken him twice indicates that Liverpool should seriously consider making a move to acquire him in the near future.
Cody Gakpo, currently playing for Liverpool, is not the first player nor will he be the last to establish himself in European football while playing for PSV. After making their imprint at the club, players such as Ronaldo, Arjen Robben, and Ruud van Nistelrooy went on to better achievements in their careers.
Gakpo, on the other hand, is a native product of the PSV academy, which in recent years has also produced talents such as Donyell Malen, Memphis Depay, and Noni Madueke. Gakpo is the latest indigenous star to emerge from the PSV academy.
PSV has perhaps not been as successful as Ajax in terms of academy production, but the club still boasts an outstanding number of alumni. Gakpo is without a doubt the most prominent of these players.
However, things might change over the next few years since an exciting new generation is coming up through the ranks of PSV.
Isaac Babadi is a member of that generation and he is a player that Liverpool should consider acquiring. Babadi is a very versatile midfielder who can play either on the wing or in the central midfield. In fact, PSV has played Babadi in the central midfield position in both of his first two games of the season.
After Gakpo left the team during the previous campaign, Babadi was promoted to the top squad. In contrast, it appears that he is now being considered a legitimate member of the first team, whereas previously he was just involved in peripheral activities.
In the first two matches of the new season, he played on the left side of a midfield three for the club and got the starting nod in each of those matches. In the first, he helped PSV win the Dutch Super Cup. In the second, he played a major role in a 4-1 demolition of Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying. As a result of this, he became one of the youngest European goal-scorers in the club’s history. Both of these victories helped PSV qualify for the Champions League.
Babadi has scored two goals for PSV in the Champions League despite the fact that he is just 18 years old and four months old. This makes him the second-youngest player to ever score for PSV in the Champions League.
It also means that he has now scored a goal at a younger age than Gakpo did when he achieved this milestone. That makes it the second time he has overtaken the Liverpool attacker; before, he made his debut for PSV at a younger age.
There is a lot to appreciate about Babadi, and he appears to be the type of player who could almost easily integrate into Liverpool’s style of play under Jurgen Klopp. Direct and extremely intelligent and technical on the ball, he is a player who has a lot of admirable qualities. Since his arrival at Anfield, Gakpo has unquestionably demonstrated that he is capable of doing so.
The 18-year-old should have a breakout season, and Liverpool’s scouts should keep a careful eye on his development during this season, which is a season in which he should have a breakout season.
Not only did he score a goal in the Champions League qualifying round, but he also stood out with the way he handled the ball. According to Wyscout, Babadi completed a remarkable 75 out of 81 passes that he attempted in his first two games. He also made four passes into the penalty area and created three shooting opportunities for his teammates. In addition, Babadi completed five out of his seven attempts to dribble the ball and succeeded in doing so five times.
The recipe for a great player, Liverpool would be well to make preparations for a potential move in the near future. After Gakpo, it’s possible that PSV academy product Babadi will become the next great thing to come out of the program.