Cody Gakpo: From Transfer Target to Key Player in Liverpool's Plans
For much of the summer, Cody Gakpo looked like the Liverpool forward most likely to go. Now he’s being repositioned as central to everything Andoni Iraola wants this season.
The Dutchman, fresh from a strong World Cup with the Netherlands and a sharp start to the 2026/27 campaign, spent the window with one foot seemingly out of the door. Liverpool had quietly marked him down as a saleable asset if the right offer landed. It did. Twice.
Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur both came forward, both prepared to hit a package worth around €100m. Liverpool and Gakpo had a clear framework: if a club met the financial conditions, the winger would be allowed to leave. City pushed hardest in the final days of the window as they hunted a replacement for Savio. Gakpo chose them.
Then the door slammed shut.
According to Dutch outlet Dagblad, the 27-year-old even held talks with Liverpool’s owners on Tuesday, partly to “clear the air” after the collapse of the move. An agreement on the terms of his departure had been in place, but at the decisive moment Liverpool pulled back. The club informed him he would not be allowed to join City, and that no alternative deal would be sanctioned either.
What started as a summer of uncertainty has now flipped. The message from inside Anfield is no longer about valuation, but about value on the pitch.
From Transfer Chip to Tactical Pillar
Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke reports that Gakpo is now expected to play a “key” role for Liverpool across the rest of the season. The club did not bring in a replacement. That was not an oversight. It was a choice.
“Gakpo will be a key player for Liverpool this season, definitely,” O’Rourke said, pointing to the early evidence: a goal against Newcastle on the opening weekend and a smart assist against Nottingham Forest. Those are not just numbers on a stat sheet; they are markers of a player already woven into Iraola’s attacking patterns.
The decisive factor, according to O’Rourke, was Gakpo’s versatility. He can operate wide, drift inside, or drop deeper to link play. In a Liverpool side being reshaped under a new manager, that flexibility carries a premium. Lose him now, and you’re not just selling a winger. You’re ripping out three or four tactical options at once.
Liverpool did listen when City came calling. They “considered” the offer, O’Rourke notes, and the Premier League champions were willing to pay “top dollar” to get the deal over the line. But the final say went the other way. The club kept their man.
That decision underlines Iraola’s stance. The Basque coach, still bedding in his ideas at Anfield, did not want to lose a forward who can cover multiple roles and has already shown he can deliver in decisive moments. In his view, Gakpo is not a luxury. He’s a cornerstone.
A Clear Verdict on Liverpool’s Ambition
There is a wider message in all this. When both Manchester City and Tottenham are ready to pay around €100m and you still refuse to sell, you are making a statement about your season’s intent.
Liverpool could have cashed in on a player whose stock is high after a standout World Cup and a fast start to the league campaign. Instead, they chose the harder path: keeping a potentially unsettled star, backing the manager’s judgement, and trusting that the football will take care of the rest.
Now the onus shifts onto Gakpo himself. The failed move, the talks with the owners, the public insistence on his importance – all of it builds pressure, but also opportunity. He begins the rest of this campaign not as a fringe asset waiting on a transfer, but as a central figure in whatever success Iraola can carve out.
Liverpool have made their call. They’ve turned down the money and doubled down on the player.
The next few months will show whether Cody Gakpo can turn a blocked escape route into the defining chapter of his Anfield career.
