Cody Gakpo's Future at Liverpool: Tottenham's Interest and Barcola's Emergence
Liverpool’s American owners, FSG, have drawn a hard line over Cody Gakpo – and it may yet open the door to a dramatic reshaping of the club’s attack, with Tottenham circling and Bradley Barcola emerging as the marquee name on the radar.
Gakpo, once seen as a key pillar of Liverpool’s next era, endured a brutal 2025/26 season. His form, like that of so many around him, collapsed as the Premier League champions stumbled through a feeble title defence. The football turned slow, predictable, lifeless. The atmosphere at Anfield followed.
Arne Slot paid the ultimate price. Not just for results, but for a style that never caught light and a disconnect with supporters that FSG could no longer ignore. In came Andoni Iraola, tasked with injecting intensity and edge back into a side that had lost both.
Gakpo, though, has found himself right in the eye of the storm.
Gakpo on the market – if the money is right
Criticism from the stands has grown louder, and with it the sense that Gakpo might be one of the high-profile casualties of the reset. Reports in the Netherlands have suggested the winger is ready to ask out of Anfield, wary of shrinking minutes under Iraola’s new regime.
That noise has not gone unnoticed in north London. Tottenham, alert to any chance of prising a proven attacker from a direct rival, have been tracking developments and weighing up a big-money move for a player with 121 career goals to his name.
Journalist David Lynch, speaking to Anfield Index, revealed that a sale is far more than idle gossip.
“I was really, really surprised,” Lynch admitted. “I said, surely there’s no chance Gakpo’s on the way this summer, they’ve got so much to do already. The answer I got back was kind of ‘hmm, nah, we could sell him.’”
Inside Liverpool, the view is clear: Gakpo is not being pushed out, but he is firmly in the “available at the right price” bracket.
“That’s not to say he’s guaranteed to go,” Lynch stressed. “But if an offer on the table comes in that is good enough, then Liverpool will 100 per cent accept it.”
The stance is ruthless, but it is also calculated. FSG know they face a heavy rebuild and cannot carry forwards who don’t fully convince the new manager. If Tottenham, or any other club, test Liverpool’s resolve with a serious bid after the World Cup, the door is open.
What Gakpo has not done, Lynch was keen to clarify, is down tools or demand a move.
“One thing that was played down, this idea that he’s asked to leave, is nonsense,” he said. For now, Gakpo’s focus is on the World Cup. The real decisions, on both sides, will come when he returns.
Barcola: the £78m winger Liverpool already admire
Behind the scenes, Liverpool’s recruitment team are not waiting around. Their primary target remains Yan Diomande, and a deal with RB Leipzig is the club’s top priority. But the attacking jigsaw is more complex than a single signing.
Victor Munoz has already arrived as one new wide option. A third winger, though, is very much in play if Gakpo departs.
That is where Bradley Barcola enters the frame.
Lynch has long reported that the PSG winger is a player of serious interest to Liverpool, and with suggestions in France that the Ligue 1 champions could cash in for around €90m (£78m), the scenario suddenly looks realistic rather than fanciful.
“For me, that feels very feasible,” Lynch said. The chain of events is clear: Gakpo goes for a substantial fee after the World Cup, PSG soften their stance on Barcola, and Liverpool move aggressively if the Frenchman is willing to choose Anfield.
There would be competition. Arsenal have been linked, and any elite, versatile wide forward of Barcola’s profile will attract a queue. Yet Liverpool’s admiration is not new, nor is it half-hearted.
Barcola’s appeal is obvious. He can operate on either flank and through the middle, though he is most comfortable from the left – the very zone Gakpo has often occupied. He offers flexibility, pace, and the kind of direct threat Iraola’s system thrives on.
“The fact that he’s someone that they do like, he can play on either side and centrally, though he primarily prefers the left, it does make sense that he’d be someone they’d pursue if they do lose Gakpo,” Lynch explained.
The logic inside the club is stark: if Gakpo leaves, he must be replaced with a player of genuine starting quality. Diomande and young prospect Ngumoha are not viewed as like-for-like solutions in that sense. Barcola, very clearly, is.
Fabrizio Romano has gone as far as to state that Iraola “loves” Barcola, and there is a contractual detail – not disclosed in full – that could tilt the situation in Liverpool’s favour if PSG decide to negotiate. For a coach who thrives on dynamic, multi-functional forwards, the fit is obvious.
A pivotal few days ahead
All of this unfolds against the backdrop of growing frustration in Diomande’s camp. The player is waiting for Liverpool and RB Leipzig to find common ground, with talk that a record-breaking agreement for the Reds could be wrapped up within “one or two days” once the final numbers align.
That deal, once resolved, will set the tone for the rest of Liverpool’s summer. It will also clarify just how far FSG are willing to go in reshaping an attack that only a year ago looked settled and stacked.
Right now, one thing is clear: Gakpo’s future is no longer secure, and Barcola’s name is not just a passing rumour. It sits there, at the centre of Liverpool’s contingency planning, ready to move from interest to intent the moment someone writes a big enough cheque for the Dutchman.
If Tottenham make that call, Anfield could witness a changing of the guard on the left wing – and Iraola’s Liverpool would start to look very different, very quickly.
