'He looked hungry': Phil Thompson claims £35m Liverpool man might have convinced Klopp to start him v Atalanta

Liverpool’s attention switches to Europe this week as they take on Atalanta in the quarter-final of the Europa League.

The Reds have the first leg at Anfield this week and will be looking to get something to take to Italy the week after.

Of course, Liverpool are heavy favourites not only to win on Thursday but also bring home the trophy as well.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have one of the strongest squads in the competition and should be able to get to the final at the very least.

READ MORE: Roy Keane praises something Jurgen Klopp did yesterday

Liverpool have big players returning with changes predicted

Right now, Liverpool are seeing a small influx of players returning from injury and pushing some of the regulars in the first XI.

The likes of Diogo Jota, Alisson Becker, and Curtis Jones are all back or close to being back, giving Jurgen Klopp more options.

Another player who could also get a chance to impress in Europe is £35m forward, Cody Gakpo. The Dutchman has come off the bench to good effect recently.

Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

And speaking on the Official Liverpool podcast, Phil Thompson believes that Gakpo could well get the nod over the out of form Darwin Nunez.

Cody Gakpo tipped to replace Darwin Nunez for Liverpool

Speaking about the impact Gakpo has had recently, former Reds defender Thompson admitted it might be time for the Dutch forward to replace Nunez.

“There’s players, the likes of Curtis (Jones). Cody (Gakpo), looked – the cup game when Cody came on against Manchester United – he looked devoid of ideas. Today, he looked hungry, looked as though he wanted to be part of it.

“Whether he learned from what happened at Old Trafford and thought ‘wow’. Today, and certainly against Sheffield United, he made a big impression also. So he might calling to play instead of Darwin, something like that,” Thompson said.

READ MORE: Roy Keane shares which dressing room he’d rather be in out of Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City

Gakpo has actually been in good form for Liverpool this season Europe. The forward has netted four in six games and scored twice in the 6-1 route of Slavia Prague in the last round.

Thompson, then, might well be right here in predicting a little change up front for the Reds.

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