Cody Gakpo Dilemma: Liverpool Weighs Spurs Interest
Tottenham are ready to drag Cody Gakpo into the heart of this summer’s transfer market, testing both Liverpool’s resolve and the player’s own patience with life on Merseyside.
The numbers alone make it a tempting equation for Liverpool’s hierarchy. Gakpo arrived from PSV for under £45 million, a deal viewed at the time as smart business for a versatile forward with a prolific Eredivisie record. Now, with Spurs said to be facing a price tag that could rise towards £70m, Liverpool stand to bank a sizeable profit if they choose to cash in.
The problem? Nobody at Anfield is quite sure which version of Gakpo they would be selling.
A talent still stuck between flashes and frustration
By now, at 27, Gakpo should feel like a fully-formed Premier League force. He has the build, the technique, the ability to drift wide or spearhead an attack. He has shown he can finish, particularly in his PSV days and again on the international stage.
Liverpool, though, have only seen that player in bursts.
His inconsistency has become a running theme, and it has triggered a serious internal question: is he central to the next iteration of this Liverpool side, or a saleable asset at a time when the squad needs reshaping?
Michael Owen didn’t sugar-coat it when asked whether Liverpool should at least listen to offers. The former Liverpool striker, speaking to GOAL, described Gakpo’s domestic campaign in brutal terms: consistent, yes – but “consistently poor” after a bright opening spell of around 10 games. He accepted that Gakpo has already shown he can be “very effective” in this team, but filed last season firmly under “concern,” both for the player and for the club’s wider level. It was, in his words, “a poor season.”
That duality sums up Liverpool’s dilemma. The talent is obvious. The output, far less so.
Liverpool’s squad puzzle
There is another layer to this. Liverpool are already light in wide areas. Allowing Gakpo to leave would deepen that problem unless a replacement walks through the door almost immediately.
Owen pointed to that very issue, questioning whether Liverpool can realistically go into the season leaning on young prospects like Rio Ngumoha if Gakpo departs. Lose him without a ready-made reinforcement and the squad starts to look dangerously thin in key attacking zones.
Inside Anfield, the mood appears geared more towards adding than trimming. Gakpo’s name, though, sits in that awkward middle ground: not untouchable, not expendable, and very much “up in the air,” as Owen put it.
Spurs move into position
Tottenham sense an opportunity.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has reported that Spurs are in direct talks with Gakpo’s camp over a possible move. For now, the deal rests on two pillars: the financial package on offer and Liverpool’s ability to secure reinforcements of their own.
Spurs want a forward who can plug into multiple roles across the front line, someone who can stretch defences but also drift inside and link play. Gakpo fits that profile. The question is whether they are prepared to go high enough on fee and wages to force Liverpool’s hand.
Liverpool, for their part, have been heavily linked with Bradley Barcola. The France international’s situation at Paris Saint-Germain is being closely watched, with suggestions that an exit route is opening for the 23-year-old Champions League winner. Any serious move for Barcola would naturally influence how Liverpool view a bid for Gakpo.
Club form vs country form
Complicating everything is the version of Cody Gakpo that pulls on an orange shirt.
For the Netherlands, he looks liberated. He impressed again at the 2026 World Cup, carrying a threat and purpose that Liverpool fans have seen only in flashes. The contrast has not gone unnoticed, and Gakpo himself has acknowledged the difference.
“It’s a little bit different,” he said when asked why he appears more consistent for the national team than for Liverpool. He pointed to how he is used, where the coach wants him to operate, and the level of freedom he enjoys. “That’s it basically.”
Simple explanation. Big implications.
Because that comment cuts to the heart of this saga: is Gakpo miscast at Liverpool, or is he simply underperforming? And if Spurs promise him a role closer to his Netherlands blueprint, does that tilt his thinking?
A decision that shapes more than one season
Gakpo will have a decisive say in what happens next. This is not a young prospect any more, but a player entering what should be his prime years, weighing which environment will best serve both his club ambitions and his international standing.
For Liverpool, the choice is stark. Back the talent and build a role that finally unlocks the PSV and Netherlands version of Cody Gakpo on a weekly basis. Or take the money, trust the market, and reshape the attack with a new face like Barcola.
For Spurs, it’s a chance to steal a high-ceiling forward from a domestic rival, at a cost that might look steep now but could age very well if the Dutchman finally knits his game together.
Some transfers feel like tidy business. This one feels like a verdict on what Cody Gakpo really is – and what he still might become.
