What Manchester City Would Actually Be Getting in Cody Gakpo
Reports of talks between Liverpool and Manchester City over Cody Gakpo have moved from speculation to something more concrete, with The Athletic reporting that the 27-year-old has chosen City over a switch to Tottenham Hotspur. Rather than dwell on how it looks for Liverpool to strengthen a rival, we think it is worth stepping back and asking exactly what City would be signing.
A Front Line in Transition
Timing tells its own story here. Gakpo only recently started in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest and picked up an assist, so this is not a player who has fallen out of the picture through lack of use. What has shifted is the club’s broader planning, with a deal for Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain now close to being finalised. Andoni Iraola gave a hint of where things stood when he said this week that he “cannot guarantee anything” about Gakpo’s future, a line that reads very differently in hindsight.
City’s motivation is straightforward enough. Finding a credible option to support Erling Haaland has been a recurring headache for Enzo Maresca, and Gakpo’s ability to play centrally or drift wide makes him a sensible fit. It also comes as City continue reshaping their forward areas more broadly, having lost Savinho and Omar Marmoush to Tottenham while agreeing a deal worth up to £34.3m for Allan Elias from Palmeiras.
The Numbers Liverpool Will Point To
Gakpo arrived from PSV Eindhoven for an initial £37m, a fee that could rise to £44m, and made an instant mark with seven Premier League goals in the second half of that debut season alone. Across his full Liverpool career he has contributed 50 goals and 23 assists in 180 appearances, a return that most attacking players in the league would happily sign for. It is a record that explains why City see value even at a fee reported to be significant.
For Liverpool, the calculation is really about timing rather than talent. A player who has delivered consistently but never quite become undroppable is exactly the profile clubs are willing to cash in on when a replacement is already arriving through the door.
Our Take
We will admit this one is not straightforward to sit with. Gakpo has never been a peripheral figure at Anfield, and there is something uncomfortable about handing a proven, versatile forward to a club chasing the same trophies. At the same time, we understand the logic. If Barcola is ready to step in and the fee genuinely reflects Gakpo’s worth, this has the shape of smart business dressed up as a difficult goodbye.
What we would want to avoid is Liverpool underestimating what they are giving up. Gakpo has carried himself well through good spells and harder ones alike, including personal circumstances that would have tested anyone. Whether this ends up as a shrewd piece of squad management or a decision Liverpool come to regret will depend entirely on what Barcola, and whoever else arrives this window, actually deliver.