Liverpool Ready to Sell Cody Gakpo Amid PSG Interest
Liverpool’s American owners have made up their minds. Cody Gakpo is no longer untouchable.
After a dismal title defence and a season in which too many Liverpool players shrank at the wrong time, FSG are ready to listen to offers for the Dutch forward – and Tottenham are circling. At the same time, attention inside Anfield has already drifted towards a potential marquee replacement: PSG winger Bradley Barcola, rated at around £78m.
This is what a reset looks like on Merseyside.
Gakpo’s standing collapses with Slot
Gakpo’s Liverpool career has never quite caught fire, but last season it stalled badly. His form, like that of several of his teammates, “dropped off a cliff” during a limp defence of the Premier League title. The football turned slow, predictable, lifeless. The mood in the stands turned with it.
Arne Slot paid the ultimate price. The Dutchman’s failure to convince supporters, coupled with the flat, pedestrian style on the pitch, pushed FSG to act. Slot was removed. Andoni Iraola arrived with a mandate to inject intensity and edge back into a squad that had lost both.
In that context, Gakpo suddenly looks vulnerable. Criticised heavily by sections of the fanbase and facing a manager who prizes aggression and relentless running, the 25‑year‑old no longer feels like a guaranteed starter. Reports in the Netherlands have suggested he fears reduced minutes and is prepared to seek a move.
Tottenham have sensed an opening. A 121-goal forward, still in his mid‑twenties, potentially available from a domestic rival? For Spurs, that is the very definition of a big swing.
“We could sell him”: Liverpool’s stance hardens
Journalist David Lynch, speaking on Anfield Index, revealed just how far Liverpool’s position has shifted.
He described his own surprise when conversations inside the club indicated that a sale was genuinely on the table. The message he received was blunt: if a suitable bid lands this summer, Liverpool will accept.
No guarantees, no fire sale. But no ring of protection around Gakpo either.
Lynch stressed that talk of the player already demanding an exit is wide of the mark. Gakpo’s focus, for now, is on the World Cup. Once that tournament ends, though, the landscape changes. If serious money arrives, Liverpool are prepared to move him on.
That stance has not gone unnoticed in north London.
Barcola: the £78m winger Liverpool admire
If Gakpo goes, he will need replacing. Inside Anfield, one name keeps resurfacing: Bradley Barcola.
Liverpool’s summer priority remains Yan Diomande, and they have already added Victor Munoz to their wide options. Even so, the idea of bringing in a third winger is very much alive, particularly if it involves a player they have tracked for a long time.
Barcola, the PSG and France winger, fits that profile. Valued at around €90m (£78m), he is seen as a versatile, high-ceiling attacker who can operate on either flank and through the middle, though he favours the left. For a club that has long prized positional flexibility in its forwards, that matters.
Lynch believes a move is “very feasible” – but only if a chain of events falls into place. Gakpo must depart for a substantial fee, likely after his World Cup campaign. PSG must be ready to cash in. Barcola must choose Liverpool over other suitors.
None of that is straightforward. Arsenal have been linked before and would provide serious competition. Yet Liverpool’s interest is longstanding, and new head coach Iraola is understood to be a major admirer. Fabrizio Romano has already stated that Barcola is a player Iraola “loves”, and there is a contractual detail at PSG that could strengthen Liverpool’s hand if a bidding war develops.
The logic from Anfield’s side is simple: Diomande and young winger Ngumoha are not seen as like-for-like replacements for Gakpo. Barcola is. If the Dutchman leaves, the Frenchman instantly moves from “player of interest” to prime target.
Spurs watch, Liverpool wait
All of this unfolds against a broader backdrop of frustration in another key pursuit. Diomande’s camp is growing impatient as Liverpool attempt to thrash out terms with RB Leipzig, with suggestions that a record-breaking agreement could be wrapped up in “one or two days” once the final pieces fall into place.
Until then, Liverpool are juggling possibilities. Gakpo’s future. Tottenham’s intentions. PSG’s stance on Barcola. The timing of bids. The dominoes are lined up; none has fallen yet.
What is clear is that FSG are no longer clinging to the status quo. A year after lifting the title, Liverpool are tearing into the squad that surrendered it so meekly. If Gakpo does walk out of Anfield this summer and Barcola walks in, it will not just be a change of face on the left wing.
It will be a statement about the kind of Liverpool Iraola intends to build – and about who still belongs in it.
