Cody Gakpo was one of the standout forwards at the European Championship this summer, so it's been surprising to see the Dutch international frequently benched this season for .
Ex-Reds forward Dean Saunders, however, to new Anfield head coach , despite unfortunate lack of regular playtime.
Gakpo made his first Premier League start of the season last Saturday against Crystal Palace, setting up Diogo Jota for the match's only goal early on.
In the two other instances where the 25-year-old has started for Liverpool this season, he assisted Dominik Szoboszlai in the 3-1 Champions League victory over AC Milan and netted twice in the 5-1 League Cup thrashing of West Ham United at home.
Saunders, who was once Liverpool's record signing when he transferred from Derby County in 1991, is confident that Gakpo will eventually demonstrate his skills under Slot.
"Gakpo has been unlucky at Liverpool but he was good at the Euros," he commented. "There's always been a question mark as to whether he's good enough to play - bearing in mind he walked into a front three which was the best in the world in terms of Mane, Salah and Firmino.
"Jota has come in alongside Nunez who looks a handful and there's a player in there. He has a knack of missing chances but there's a player there. And then there's Diaz who replaced Mane. Diaz has bided his time to show his class and has done so by working hard. You could never say Diaz doesn't work hard enough. Now he's got five or six goals and he's playing out of his skin.
"As a manager myself I know how difficult it is to find centre forwards who score goals and run towards goal without the ball. Same with wide players. Loads want it to feet. Salah, Mane and Diaz will do that and hopefully Gakpo will slot in eventually and show his class.
"To have someone like Gakpo struggling to get into the Liverpool team is a good sign and at Liverpool the forwards are queuing up to get into the team."
