Former striker turned pundit Paul Merson has urged Liverpool boss Arne Slot to drop Luis Diaz from the starting eleven against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Reds have enjoyed a promising start to this season under the Dutch boss’ guidance. They are currently second in the league with 12 points from five games, sitting only one point behind the table topper Manchester City.
The Merseyside club’s frontline have been excellent thus far this term, scoring 10 goals in the league with Diaz, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah being Slot’s preferred front three.
The Colombian is Liverpool’s highest scorer in the Premier League so far with five goals from as many games. However, Merson has said that he would drop the former FC Porto star and start Cody Gakpo on the left flank this weekend against the Wolves.
The reason behind his stance is that the Dutchman has been playing with a lot of confidence and he provides something different than the South American. The pundit further claims that he wants to see Darwin Nunez get the nod ahead of Jota.
Slot urged to drop Diaz vs Wolves
He said:
“I’d personally go with Cody Gakpo alongside Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah for this game[vs Wolves]. I think Gakpo is playing with a lot of confidence and he just gives you something more than the other options.”
Gakpo started against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup last night and he was excellent in that game. He scored two late goals and the Reds eventually won the game 5-1. The Anfield club will now face off against Brighton and Hove Albion in the next round of this competition.
Gakpo looked excellent last time out but Diaz – valued at around £62m by Transfermarkt – has started the season impressively and it wouldn’t be the right decision to drop him this weekend. The Reds have plenty of games to play this campaign and the Dutchman will get plenty of opportunities to showcase his qualities.
Meanwhile, after taking on Wolves on Saturday, Liverpool will welcome Bologna at Anfield in the Champions League next week before facing off against Crystal Palace in the Premier League ahead of the international break.
