Cody Gakpo Requests Transfer from Liverpool After Slot's Dismissal

Cody Gakpo’s Liverpool story looks to be heading for a sharp, emotional twist.

The Dutch forward, a £37m signing in January 2022, has submitted a transfer request to leave Anfield after Arne Slot’s dismissal, according to Dutch outlet Soccernews. For a player who thrived under his compatriot only a year ago, the timing and reasoning are striking.

Gakpo has delivered 50 goals and 23 assists in 180 appearances for Liverpool, a solid return that included 15 goal contributions in the Premier League last season as the club surged to the title in Slot’s first campaign in charge. He was trusted, central, and heavily backed by a coach who built a chunk of his attack around him.

Then the wheels came off.

Liverpool’s title defence collapsed this term, ending with a flat fifth-placed finish. The dip cost Slot his job and opened the door for Andoni Iraola, who now inherits a squad in flux and a dressing room still processing the shock of a managerial change.

For Gakpo, the fallout has been personal as well as professional. Over the course of the season, sections of the Liverpool fanbase increasingly turned their frustration towards him, questioning why Slot continued to select the 25-year-old ahead of teenage prodigy Rio Ngumoha. The criticism grew louder as performances dipped, and Gakpo, once seen as a key piece of Liverpool’s attacking future, became a lightning rod.

According to the Soccernews report, that backdrop has shaped his decision. They state that Gakpo has lodged a formal transfer request because he does not see a future at Liverpool without Slot.

The market has taken notice.

Atletico Madrid are reported to be keen, exploring Gakpo as a potential replacement for Antoine Griezmann, who is set to join MLS side Orlando City after his contract with the La Liga club expired. Atletico are said to “have ears for a collaboration” with Gakpo, an old-fashioned phrase that underlines a simple point: they are listening, and they are interested.

It will not be cheap. Gakpo is currently valued at around €60m (£52m) by Transfermarkt, and the Dutch report stresses that “a lot of payment will have to be made” to prise him away from Anfield. Yet the same report insists a deal is far from impossible.

Crucially, Liverpool are not digging in.

TEAMtalk report that the club are open to Gakpo’s sale this summer. That stance is notable given how strongly Slot backed the winger. The former head coach not only persisted with him in the starting XI while media and supporters questioned his role, he also oversaw a lucrative new contract last year, tying Gakpo down on wages of around £250,000 a week until June 2030.

Despite that long-term commitment, Liverpool are understood to be willing to sanction his departure and will not stand in the way of his request to leave. Even the looming exit of club icon Mohamed Salah has not changed that position. With Salah heading out and a major attacking rebuild already required, the club could still choose to cash in on Gakpo as well.

It underlines the scale of the reset coming at Anfield.

Back in March, before Salah’s departure became official, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano predicted exactly this kind of turbulence on the flanks. “I think it will be a busy summer for Liverpool with wingers. It’s very clear they need to reinforce their wingers,” he said, pointing to the situations of both Salah and Gakpo and stressing the need for “something fresh” in wide areas.

That “fresh” element may now arrive alongside a clear-out.

If Gakpo gets his move and Atletico push hard, Liverpool will be losing a forward in his prime who, under one manager, looked like a cornerstone of a new era, and under the next might not feature at all. For Iraola, it sharpens the challenge: rebuild an attack, replace a legend, and decide whether a once-favoured, high-earning winger is part of the future or part of the funding for it.

One thing is already clear. The calm around Liverpool’s front line has gone. The next few weeks will decide whether Gakpo’s request marks the start of a new chapter for him in Spain – and a very different-looking Liverpool attack when the new season kicks off.