Manchester City are working to sign Cody Gakpo before the transfer window closes on Tuesday at 11 pm, and Virgil van Dijk has said he’s unhappy the 27-year-old is being allowed to leave.
Reports broke on Saturday evening linking City with a concrete push to sign Gakpo, with reports today confirming how advanced the Cityzens interest is.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano writes on X that City are “confident” that they will be able to finalise a deal worth £85m.
Romano says: “Manchester City confident to close all details of Cody Gakpo deal as soon as Liverpool agree to sign his replacement. Deal will cost £85m and Gakpo gave his green light to signing a five-year contract at Man City.”
???? Manchester City confident to close all details of Cody Gakpo deal as soon as Liverpool agree to sign his replacement.
Deal will cost £85m and Gakpo gave
his green light to signing a five year contract at Man City. pic.twitter.com/eWv8RfxXt2
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 30, 2026
Gakpo’s contract at Liverpool is worth £250,000 per week, so he will likely sign a similarly lucrative deal with the Manchester outfit.
The Athletic‘s David Ornstein reports: “Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has decided to join Manchester City, and all parties are now in talks to reach an agreement. The 27-year-old has decided against a move to Tottenham Hotspur and wants to complete a move to the Etihad.”
Virgil van Dijk protests against Liverpool deal to sell Gakpo to Man City
Asked if he wants Gakpo to stay, the captain said: “What do you think? He’s a quality player. I think we should keep quality players.
“Let’s see what the next few days bring. I want him to stay not only because he’s a quality player but also because he’s a friend of mine. He’s very important for us.”
I have to agree with van Dijk. Not only is Gakpo as good as you can hope a backup winger could be, but selling him to a rival makes this move even more problematic. Selling him to Spurs is one thing, but strengthening a direct rival for the Premier League makes little sense.
I guess money talks, because £85m is a very large sum for a player like Gakpo, but even so, this transfer could come back around and haunt the Reds.
Across 180 appearances for Liverpool, Gakpo has scored 50 goals and assisted 23.