Emile Heskey says his former club Liverpool are missing Luis Diaz and has questioned why they did not rival Manchester City for Marc Guehi's signature
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: Cody Gakpo of Liverpool looks on during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on February 08, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Cody Gakpo looks on during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on February 08, 2026
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(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Former Liverpool favourite Emile Heskey believes Cody Gakpo is not being played in his best position. And he reckons his old club could be left to regret two transfer decisions.
Cody Gakpo scored 16 and 18 goals in all competitions in his first full two seasons at Liverpool and while he remains on target to bring up double figures again in the current campaign, his form, like many of his team-mates in what been a testing campaign, has dipped.
In contrast, the man who he used to share left-wing duties with for the Reds, Luis Diaz, is flying at Bayern Munich, with his hat-trick on Sunday taking him to 28 goal contributions for the Bundesliga champions since his £65.5 move from the Premier League champions in the summer.
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And Heskey said: “Liverpool miss Luis Diaz on the left-hand side. He gave them that relentlessness with chasing and hassling, and was really good at taking players on and making defenders feel like they’ve got no time to think.
“I feel that Liverpool had grown used to having players like Diaz and Sadio Mane on the left, who were both persistent in their pressing.
“They now have Cody Gakpo in that position who is a totally different player to both, and the fans are probably wondering why he can’t do what Diaz and Mane did for years.
“I see Gakpo as a striker or attacking midfielder and not a left winger, so there’s clearly a question of whether he’s a good enough fit for the position at the moment.”
Liverpool had initially been reluctant to let Diaz leave on the back of an excellent campaign where he scored 17 goals in all competitions as the club won the Premier League title in Arne Slot's first season in charge.
An advance from Barcelona was dismissed out of hand in June before an approach and then an offer from Bayern was also rebuffed.
But the Reds' stance softened when Munich made a second bid above £65m for a 28-year-old who had already made it clear he was determined to leave after two new contract offers had been turned down.
Liverpool felt the deal was simply too good to refuse for a player of Diaz’s age, with only seven players 28 or over having commanded a higher fee in football history than the sum they have pocketed from the sale.
The Reds did bolster their attack with the huge-money signings of the £125m Alexander Isak, the £116m Florian Wirtz and the £79m Hugo Ekitike.
But their attempts to strengthen their senior options in defence were curtailed on transfer deadline day in the summer when a £35m deal for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi collapsed.
Guehi subsequently signed for Manchester City in the January transfer window and he gave Liverpool a reminder of his talents with an excellent showing in Sunday's showdown at Anfield.
And Heskey, who scored 60 goals in 223 appearances for the Reds, winning four major honours, has questioned why the title holders did not rival City for the England star's signature last month.
“Marc Guehi is a fantastic player and I’m very disappointed Liverpool didn’t follow up with their summer offer to buy him in January,” Heskey said to aGamble.
“For him to turn up at Manchester City last month made me think, ‘what’s happened there?’, because I thought Liverpool had the deal under control even when it didn’t go through last year.
“He’s a very solid and intelligent defender who understands how to slow games down, but also how to build up play from the back. He came from Chelsea’s academy, so obviously has the experience and understanding of playing for a big club.
“It’s so frustrating watching him play well for another club and potentially being the difference maker in games like that.”