Liverpool's Transfer Strategy: Gakpo's Potential Exit and New Targets
Liverpool’s transfer plan this summer has been clear from day one: restore one-v-one menace out wide.
Mohamed Salah’s departure on a free has ripped a hole in the right side of the attack, and for all the noise around Anfield, that gap still hasn’t been properly filled.
Victor Munoz is through the door from Osasuna after Liverpool triggered the Spain World Cup winner’s £34 million release clause, a smart early move from new sporting director Richard Hughes. But Munoz alone doesn’t solve the problem. Not for a team that has just come off a 2024/25 Premier League title win and now needs to refresh its forward line on the fly.
Liverpool push on with Barcola and Minteh
Liverpool are deep into talks for at least two more wide forwards.
Bradley Barcola has been the top target ever since the club backed away from Yan Diomande. The 23-year-old is seen as the ideal profile to take on a starting role in the front line, yet Paris Saint-Germain are standing firm. Their asking price starts at an eye-watering £145 million before they will even consider letting him leave.
At the same time, Liverpool have moved for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh. The 22-year-old Gambian, a left-footer who can operate across the frontline, has already been the subject of two bids: £50 million, then £60 million. Brighton, though, are holding out. The message from the south coast is blunt – £70 million or no deal.
Those numbers add up quickly. If Liverpool want both Barcola and Minteh, or even one of them at those valuations, something has to give. By the time negotiations reach the decisive stage, outgoings are likely to be essential to finance the rebuild of the wide areas.
Gakpo emerges as the sacrifice
That is where Cody Gakpo comes in.
The Dutch forward, on wages of around £250,000 per week, is increasingly being framed as the player Liverpool may have to cash in on. A fee of £72 million has been floated for a move to Tottenham, and the links have refused to go away.
Gakpo, 27, has long been admired by Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who is in the middle of a sweeping overhaul of his attacking options. The Italian wants a new-look front line, and the pieces are being laid out.
Manchester City pair Savinho and Omar Marmoush are set to line up for Spurs this season, adding pace and direct running to the flanks and centre. Gakpo is being lined up as the final part of that attacking jigsaw, a left-sided option who can drift inside and link play in De Zerbi’s structure.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano now believes the move is close.
“Tottenham are working on it”
Speaking to his YouTube audience, Romano underlined how advanced Spurs’ summer build is becoming and where Gakpo fits into it.
“Don’t forget Cody Gakpo, because Savinho is going to Tottenham in London for medical tests and contract signing,” he said.
“Omar Marmoush is expected to go to Tottenham as a centre striker, and he’s a target that is probably going to happen in the next days, as I told you.
“But I told you always: right winger, left winger, centre striker. This was what I told you about Tottenham. And for the left winger, the name remains Cody Gakpo.
“Tottenham are working on it. Tottenham are working on the player side. Player terms are not an issue. And then Tottenham remain absolutely on it on the club side with Liverpool.
“So, Gakpo to Tottenham could be over in the next days if the total deal can be agreed.”
For Liverpool, that would mark the end of a relatively short, uneven spell.
Gakpo arrived from PSV in January 2023 and hit the ground running. He played a key role in the club’s 2024/25 Premier League title-winning campaign, showing versatility across the front line and offering goals from the left and through the middle.
Last season, though, the momentum stalled. Performances dipped, the goals dried up, and a vocal section of the fanbase began to call for an upgrade in his position. The combination of a high salary, a strong potential fee, and the need to refresh the attack has pushed him towards the front of the exit queue.
If Liverpool can finally push the Barcola deal over the line, the Frenchman is expected to take Gakpo’s place in the squad hierarchy. Andoni Iraola already has Rio Ngumoha and Munoz available for the left side, giving him a cluster of options that only increases the likelihood of a major sale.
Liverpool want one-v-one specialists, direct threats, players who can unpick a low block on their own. Tottenham want a technically sharp, tactically flexible left winger to complete De Zerbi’s new frontline.
If both clubs get their way, Cody Gakpo’s next touch at Anfield might come in a different shade of white.
