Cody Gakpo Approaches Tottenham as De Zerbi Talks Progress

Cody Gakpo’s future at Liverpool is no longer a theoretical debate. It’s moving. Quietly, but clearly, towards north London.

Dutch reporter Rik Elfrink says the 27-year-old has already sat down with Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi, holding talks last month that left Gakpo “definitely open” to a move to Spurs. That conversation has changed the tone of this story. It’s no longer just interest. There’s intent on both sides.

And now Liverpool are listening.

Direct Line: Gakpo and De Zerbi

Tottenham’s admiration for Gakpo has been building for weeks. Voetbal International journalist Joost Blaauwhof previously revealed that Spurs had formally registered their interest, with De Zerbi identifying Gakpo and Savinho as attackers who could offer him different tools in the final third.

Elfrink has now pushed the story on. Posting on X, he reported that Gakpo spoke directly with De Zerbi last month and left that meeting open to a transfer to Spurs, with Liverpool now appearing willing to “go along with it”. PSV Eindhoven, he added, would also stand to benefit financially from any deal.

That chat with De Zerbi matters. Gakpo will have been given a clear picture of his role in a De Zerbi system that leans heavily on positional fluidity and technical precision. Spurs, in turn, know the player is receptive to the project and the idea of being a key piece in an evolving attack.

The pressure is now on the clubs to find the numbers.

Liverpool’s Price – and Tottenham’s First Move

Liverpool hold the strongest card: the valuation.

SoccerNews report that Tottenham have already tested the water with an opening proposal just north of £60 million. Liverpool are expected to turn that down. The benchmark figure being discussed sits closer to £70 million, a hefty but logical sum given the fee paid to PSV when Gakpo arrived at Anfield in January 2023 and his subsequent Premier League experience.

If Spurs are willing to move towards that £70 million mark, this stops being a complicated saga and starts to look like a fairly straightforward negotiation. If they don’t, Liverpool have little reason to budge. Gakpo remains a proven top-flight attacker, comfortable off the left, through the middle, or drifting across the front line.

He is not a player they need to push out of the door. Which is where Bradley Barcola comes in.

Barcola Chase Looms Over the Deal

Liverpool’s pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola could end up deciding Gakpo’s fate.

Andoni Iraola is overseeing a major reshaping of Liverpool’s forward line. Mohamed Salah has already gone, leaving a significant void in goals, creativity and presence. Any further change in that department carries obvious risk, especially when it involves another established international.

If Liverpool make real progress on Barcola, Gakpo’s situation changes immediately. One major attacking arrival gives them cover, both on the pitch and on the balance sheet. The club would then have to manage the numbers in Iraola’s attacking group, and Gakpo becomes the obvious candidate to generate a sizeable fee.

There is also a ripple effect for PSV. Elfrink notes that the Dutch club would benefit from the solidarity mechanism if Gakpo joins Spurs, handing them a financial interest in seeing the move go through.

So the decision at Anfield isn’t just tactical. It’s structural, sporting and economic all at once.

Risk, Reward and a Rival Strengthened

From a purely financial standpoint, selling Gakpo for around £70 million makes sense for Liverpool. It would represent a strong return on their investment and provide serious funds to reinvest, potentially in Barcola.

The football calculation is less clean.

Gakpo can frustrate. There have been stretches where his form has dipped and his influence has waned. Yet he still offers goals, Premier League experience and the kind of positional versatility that managers lean on when the season gets long and messy. Those traits don’t show up neatly in a balance sheet, but they matter across 50-plus games.

Liverpool cannot afford to get the sequence wrong: cashing in on Gakpo before Barcola – or another elite attacker – is actually in the building would be a gamble at a time when Iraola is already steering the club through a major transition.

Then there is the uncomfortable angle. Selling directly to Tottenham.

De Zerbi clearly sees something he can unlock in Gakpo. You don’t arrange early, direct talks with a player unless you believe he can carry a significant role in your system. If Liverpool sanction the move, they risk watching a rejuvenated Gakpo drive a rival’s attack while they are still bedding in his replacement.

Tottenham want the player. Gakpo is open to the move. Liverpool are prepared to talk at the right price.

The numbers will decide whether this is just another rumour window story, or the moment Liverpool cash in and hand De Zerbi a new weapon in the race for the Premier League’s top places.