Liverpool boss Arne Slot names player he is 'happy' to have in his team for Premier League clash against familiar rival Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has asserted that he is elated to have Cody Gakpo in his side ahead of upcoming Premier League encounter against Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City.

Slot, who joined the Reds earlier this summer, is set to face a club coached by Van Nistelrooy for the third time on Thursday (December 26). The pair faced each other in the 2022-23 term when Van Nistelrooy's PSV Eindhoven recorded a 4-3 home league win and a 2-2 away draw at Slot's Feyenoord.

At a pre-game press conference, Slot shared his honest thoughts on facing Van Nistelrooy in the dugout for the first time since February 2023. He responded (h/t The Independent):

"I was expecting you to tell the people over here that I lost once and drew once! But you made it positive, saying that we won the league title which was true. Cody Gakpo was in his team, but I'm happy that he's in my team when we face Ruud because Cody scored [once and assisted three goals in PSV's 4-3 win]."

Slot, who has lost just one of his 25 total games as Liverpool boss, said:

"Ruud is a very nice person, first of all. I met him once or twice. I think he did really well when he was at PSV because I think for the last one-and-a-half years, PSV have been on top of the league table but if you look at the second half of Ruud’s season, I think they didn't lose any more games at all."

Slot, who helped Feyenoord lift two trophies from 2021 to 2024, added:

"It wasn't a surprise that, after we left, PSV started buying a few more players than they did when he started working there. When he was there, Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke were sold. But he still showed that he could compete for the title. Nice person, good manager, did well at Manchester United [as interim manager] as well. Looking forward to seeing him... especially if we win."

Liverpool are currently atop the Premier League table with 39 points from 16 games, while the Foxes are in 17th place with just 14 points from 17 matches.

How well has Cody Gakpo fared at Liverpool?

After impressing in the first half of the 2022-23 season, Cody Gakpo emerged as a top target for a number of European sides in January 2023. He ended up joining Liverpool for £37 million plus £7 million in add-ons from PSV Eindhoven.

In his initial one-and-a-half campaigns at Liverpool, Gakpo featured in a number of different positions. The Dutch forward started 54 of his 79 appearances in all competitions, scoring 23 goals and providing nine assists along the way.

Under Slot, the 25-year-old has found the back of the opposition net nine times and laid out three assists in 25 overall outings, including 14 starts, so far.