Tottenham's Pursuit of Cody Gakpo: A Key Addition for De Zerbi
Roberto De Zerbi has wasted no time reshaping Tottenham in his own image. The defence has already been ripped up and rebuilt with three new arrivals, and the Italian is now turning his gaze towards the sharp end of the pitch.
This next phase will define his Spurs. And the club want to arm him with a headline act.
Spurs push for a marquee name
Tottenham have already tested the market with intent. A £75million bid for Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has been rejected, a clear signal that Spurs are prepared to spend big to accelerate De Zerbi’s project rather than edge forward cautiously.
They are also circling West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes as they search for a central midfielder who can dictate games and punch through lines. Higher up the pitch, talks continue with Manchester City over Savinho, a wide forward whose profile fits De Zerbi’s demand for direct, aggressive attackers.
But the most eye-catching name on the list sits at Anfield.
Cody Gakpo enters the frame
Tottenham have been linked with a move for Cody Gakpo, a player who feels permanently on the verge of exploding into the elite bracket.
The 27-year-old featured heavily for Liverpool in the Premier League last season. He missed only two games through injury and started 32 of his 36 league appearances under Arne Slot, a level of trust that underlines his importance in a fiercely competitive forward line.
Seven goals and five assists might not grab headlines in isolation, but they tell a story of steady contribution: a goal involvement roughly every three matches in a team stacked with attacking options.
Gakpo’s form has travelled well too. Named in Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands squad for the 2026 World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico, he has started the tournament sharply. In the 5-1 dismantling of Sweden in the second group game, he struck twice and added an assist, a performance that will have recruitment departments all over Europe taking notes.
Liverpool hold the leverage
For all the noise around his future, Liverpool remain in control.
The club signed Gakpo in January 2023 for a fee understood to be between £35million and £45million. Any sale now would be framed not as a cut, but as a calculation: can they bank a profit while reshaping their own attack?
His contract complicates any bargain hunt. Gakpo only extended his deal last summer, on terms believed to be worth around £250,000 per week, and he still has four years remaining. That length gives Liverpool total leverage in negotiations. They do not need to sell. They can wait, watch the World Cup, and let the market come to them.
And the World Cup is only pushing his value in one direction. Each sharp touch, each decisive run, each goal in the Netherlands shirt nudges the asking price higher.
Spurs interest grows, but timing is everything
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Tottenham are among the clubs exploring a move for Gakpo. The interest is real. The deal is not.
Romano has made it clear that Liverpool have not yet given the green light to any exit. The club are still happy with Gakpo, and there is no sense of an imminent agreement. With the World Cup in full swing, neither Liverpool nor the player are expected to force the issue in the coming days.
This is a slow-burn saga rather than a deadline dash. Tottenham are probing, testing whether there is a route to a deal, but they are operating on Liverpool’s timetable.
For De Zerbi, the equation is simple. He wants more firepower, more versatility, more threat between the lines. Gakpo offers all of that. Liverpool know it. Spurs know it. The World Cup is only underlining it.
The question now is not whether Cody Gakpo has suitors. It is whether Tottenham can tempt Liverpool into dismantling a piece of their forward line to fuel De Zerbi’s revolution in north London.
