Tottenham Pursue Cody Gakpo as Liverpool Stand Firm

Tottenham are circling around Cody Gakpo. Liverpool are not picking up the phone. For now.

Standard Sport understands Spurs have a concrete interest in the Dutch forward, but no formal talks have taken place with Liverpool over a summer move. The admiration is clear; the negotiation is not.

At Anfield, the stance is simple enough. Liverpool have no plans to sell Gakpo while they work through the far bigger question of how to replace Mohamed Salah. That search has led them to Paris. Bradley Barcola of Paris Saint-Germain and France sits at the top of their attacking wish list, with reports placing his valuation at around £145million.

The numbers underline the scale of Liverpool’s rebuild. Lose Salah and they need guaranteed quality, not just promise. Gakpo, versatile and settled, fits into that equation as a player to keep, not cash in on.

Yet the story refuses to close there. Caught Offside report that Gakpo is open to joining Spurs if the clubs can agree a fee. That is a significant detail. The player is not pushing for the move, but he is not closing the door either.

Liverpool’s position may be tested if the money climbs high enough. Football Insider have reported an asking price in the region of £70m. Whether that figure is a bargaining chip or a hard line is not yet clear, and it remains to be seen if Liverpool will continue to stand firm once the window tightens and the market shifts.

On the other side of the deal, Tottenham are not acting like a club ready to down tools. Far from it. Despite spending £237m already this summer and bringing in six new signings, Roberto De Zerbi is still demanding more. The Spurs head coach wants another two to three additions before the window closes and has described the club’s transfer business as only “60 per cent done”.

That is an arresting claim in early August. It also explains why Gakpo’s name will not go away.

Spurs are targeting a winger and potentially another striker. They have identified Gakpo as a player who can tick both boxes: an option off the left flank who can also operate as a No9. That kind of flexibility is gold dust in De Zerbi’s high-intensity, fluid attacking structure.

The fit makes sense. The finances are the fight.

For now, Liverpool hold the stronger hand, protected by their need to secure a Salah successor and by a player under contract who is not agitating to leave. Tottenham, though, have money on the table, a manager demanding more firepower, and a clear tactical role mapped out.

If Liverpool land their top target in Barcola, does their resolve over Gakpo soften? Or does Salah’s shadow loom so large that every remaining forward becomes non-negotiable?

The clock is ticking on the window. At some point, admiration either turns into a bid, or it disappears into another what-if of a frantic summer.