Tottenham Target Gakpo Amidst Liverpool Resistance

Tottenham’s summer rebuild under Roberto De Zerbi has a new headline target: Cody Gakpo. Interest is real. Talks, for now, are not.

Standard Sport understands Spurs admire the Liverpool and Netherlands forward and have earmarked him as a potential solution on the left, with the added bonus that he can also operate as a No9. For a coach who craves fluid, interchangeable attacking pieces, Gakpo ticks a lot of boxes.

Liverpool, though, are not playing ball.

The Anfield hierarchy currently have no plans to sell the 25-year-old as they work through a far bigger puzzle: life after Mohamed Salah. With the Egyptian’s future unresolved, Liverpool’s focus is on sourcing a replacement, not opening up another hole in their forward line.

Bradley Barcola sits at the top of that list. The Paris Saint-Germain and France winger has emerged as Liverpool’s primary attacking target, with reports placing his valuation at around £145million. It is an enormous number, and one that underlines why Liverpool are reluctant to even entertain the idea of losing Gakpo at the same time.

Yet the story does not end there.

Caught Offside report that Gakpo is open to joining Spurs if the clubs can agree a fee. That willingness from the player injects a different kind of tension into the situation: Liverpool may be firm, but the door is not completely bolted from the other side.

Football Insider have suggested an asking price in the region of £70m. Whether that figure is a genuine starting point, a negotiating stance or pure posturing remains unclear, but it sets the scale of the deal Spurs would have to contemplate if they choose to push.

And they have already pushed hard this summer.

Under De Zerbi, Spurs have spent £237m and brought in six new players, reshaping the squad with the Italian’s aggressive, front-foot football in mind. Yet he insists the job is far from finished, publicly stating that the club’s transfer business is only about 60 per cent complete.

That is a striking admission. It also explains why Spurs are still hunting.

A winger is a priority. Another striker is strongly under consideration. In an ideal world, one player would cover both roles at a high level. Gakpo fits that profile: a left-sided forward comfortable drifting inside, linking play and finishing moves, but also capable of leading the line when required.

For Tottenham, he represents versatility, pedigree and upside. For Liverpool, he represents stability at a time of potential upheaval.

Something has to give for this to move. Right now, Liverpool are holding their ground, Spurs are watching closely, and Gakpo is waiting in the middle of a transfer tug-of-war that may yet define the final weeks of the window.