Everton loanee says £45m Liverpool player is absolutely 'unbelievable'

By Sam Preston

Everton loanee Jarrad Branthwaite has paid tribute to Liverpool January signing Cody Gakpo after playing with him at PSV.

Gakpo and Branthwaite were teammates for the first half of the season, before Gakpo made his £45 million move to Anfield.

The Dutchman struggled initially, but opened the scoring in the 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United and seems to be finding his feet now.

In an interview with the Mirror, Branthwaite praised Gakpo and said he has no doubts he will be a success on the other half of Merseyside.

Jarrad Branthwaite praises Cody Gakpo

He said: “I spoke to Cody a few times when he first signed [for Liverpool]. When I signed for Everton I was in the Titanic Hotel and I think he was staying there as well, so he was asking for a few places to go eat and things.

“He’s settled into a massive club but it’s no surprise for me. When he was here, the quality he had was unbelievable; his goals and assists, his passing, his dribbling – he had everything.

“Obviously it’s gonna take a couple of months to find your feet but over the last month he’s settled right in and played really well.”

Branthwaite will be looking on with interest to see if Everton stay in the Premier League and avoid relegation under Sean Dyche.

Then, he will have a new manager to impress in pre-season, having been sent out on loan to the Netherlands by Frank Lampard.

Meanwhile, Gakpo is trying to help fire Liverpool into the top four, after their Champions League exit versus Real Madrid in midweek.