Why Letting Gakpo Leave for Manchester City Might Suit Both Sides
Word out of Manchester is that City are pushing hard for Cody Gakpo, and according to The Times, Tottenham have already fallen away in the race. Put an £85m valuation on a versatile Premier League forward and most clubs would at least listen. The question for us is whether Liverpool should be nervous about that or quietly relieved.
A Deal That Fits the Business, Even If It Stings
There is a version of this where the reaction is purely defensive: why would you ever strengthen a direct title rival? That instinct is fair, and nobody enjoys watching a useful forward walk into the Etihad dressing room. But football rarely rewards sentiment over structure. If City are willing to pay £85m for a squad player who has never quite nailed down a starting shirt, Liverpool are being handed a decision most boardrooms would take happily.
The Spurs angle only adds weight to the story. Roberto De Zerbi is reportedly also facing the prospect of Richarlison pushing for an exit, which suggests a wider reshuffle is under way among England’s front lines this window, not just at Anfield.
Barcola Changes the Maths
None of this happens in isolation. Liverpool have been finalising a move for Bradley Barcola, and that context matters enormously. A club selling a versatile attacker while simultaneously bringing in a proven wide forward is not a club panicking, it is a club rotating its options. Andoni Iraola will not want a prolonged saga hanging over his forward line, and if Barcola is already lined up as the replacement, the incentive to drag out a Gakpo exit largely disappears.
Manchester City, for their part, continue to hunt for attacking cover behind Erling Haaland, a search that has rarely gone smoothly for Enzo Maresca’s side. Gakpo’s profile, capable centrally or from the flank, ticks a lot of boxes for them even if it means paying a premium.
Our Take
We keep coming back to the same point: £85m for a player who has been good rather than indispensable is a strong number, and strong numbers change decisions. If Gakpo has genuinely decided he wants to go, as this report suggests, dragging him through a season of half commitment helps nobody. Selling to a rival never feels comfortable, but Liverpool have done harder deals than this one and come out ahead.
Our view is that this only becomes a mistake if Barcola fails to deliver, or if Iraola is left short of cover in a congested run of fixtures. On the numbers alone, though, this looks less like Liverpool being raided and more like a club cashing in at exactly the right moment.