Cody Gakpo sent 'pressure' warning with 'a lot on his shoulders' amid Man Utd star's struggles

Before he moved to Liverpool from PSV, could have ended up signing for . The Old Trafford side was keen on bringing him to the before the Reds swooped in ahead of it to seal a $48m (£37m/€44m) move.

Since then, Erik ten Hag's side has brought in Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee but neither has provided a huge volume of goals. The former got 10 in the league during his debut campaign after coming in from Atalanta, while the latter has found the back of the net once in 10 appearances to date since signing from Bologna.

Danish pundit Kenneth Perez, who often works on Dutch soccer having spent a big chunk of his career with Ajax, PSV and Twente, has sent a "pressure" message to winger Gakpo as a result of .

With Zirkzee and Ajax’s Brian Brobbey both having struggled at the start of the season, there will be plenty of expectation on the Reds ace to deliver the goals for his national side during the next couple of international breaks. The Netherlands' only other option is Wout Weghorst.

"They both made it very difficult for (Ronald Koeman). Just not in terms of goals," Perez said. "They don’t score goals, and that is a requirement for a striker. If Brobbey had not been so good against Germany, Zirkzee might have become the striker. But it is not a problem that you have two young strikers, is it?

"Then you can alternate. You can look at who is in shape at that moment. It is hoped that one of the two will score goals at some point. There is now a lot on Gakpo’s shoulders when it comes to scoring goals, and from midfield, you cannot expect Tijjani Reijnders to score every time."

Liverpool.com says: Gakpo has been really good so far this season and he has impressed whenever he has got the opportunity, even though is ahead of him in the pecking order. He will relish the chance to take center stage for his country having not played as much for Liverpool as he probably deserves so far under . The two lots of 90 minutes he should expect could be exactly what he needs ahead of a crucial run of games in the Premier League and the .