Cody Gakpo is reportedly willing to join Tottenham if a transfer fee can be agreed with Liverpool this summer.
For the second summer running, Gakpo is happy to leave Liverpool after he was ready to join Bayern Munich last summer before Luis Diaz was the player to move to the Bavarians.
Speaking about the transfer, Gakpo said: “From what I understand, they [Bayern] did come [to open talks about a transfer], but they ended up buying Luis Diaz. It’s difficult because so much is happening.
“Other clubs are approaching you, but you might want to stay with your own club. Everyone handles that in their own way, but it’s definitely difficult. When the future is uncertain, it just becomes a very difficult story.”
The Dutch forward subsequently signed a £312,000 per week deal with Liverpool (£250k basic + £62.5k in bonuses) which expires in 2030, but he may now leave for Spurs just one year after putting pen to paper on a new contract.
Cody Gakpo reportedly willing to make Spurs switch amid increasing interest
According to Caught Offside, via the London Evening Standard, Gakpo has given the green light to a move to Tottenham, but a move to London will depend on whether or not Liverpool and Spurs can come to terms on a transfer fee.
It’s uncertain how much the Reds would demand for the 27-year-old, but a claim on Monday from Simon Jones, writing for the Daily Mail, suggests that although Liverpool have “no plans” to sell Gakpo, ” a huge sum” from Tottenham could change their thinking.
A report from Anfield Watch suggests Liverpool would only sanction a sale if they received £72m (€85m) this summer, which would make Gakpo the second most expensive departure in the club’s history.
That would go a long way towards funding other transfers this summer, with a deal to sign Bradley Barcola certain to exceed £100m.
That said, it would be a risk to sell Gakpo until after the Barcola deal is complete and even then, it would mean Liverpool would need two more forwards in addition to the French winger.
That’s rather a lot of change for a single summer, and after we saw the effects that too much change had on Liverpool last season, it might be wise to keep Gakpo.