Cody Gakpo Transfer: Manchester United Eye Bold Move from Liverpool

Manchester United are weighing up a bold move that would send shockwaves through English football: a raid on Liverpool for Cody Gakpo.

The Dutch forward, once a long-term target at Old Trafford, has re-emerged on United’s radar, with respected journalist Ben Jacobs confirming the club’s enduring admiration. The problem? History. United and Liverpool simply do not trade with each other.

Gakpo’s Liverpool story has stalled. Domestically, last season never really caught fire for him. Nine goals and six assists in 52 appearances is a solid return on paper, but it pales next to his first full campaign at Anfield, when he hit 18 goals and seven assists in 49 games. The sharp edge that defined his early months in England dulled over time.

On the international stage, though, he reminded everyone why Europe’s elite chased him in the first place. At the World Cup he was electric, scoring three times and adding an assist in four matches, even as the Netherlands crashed out in a shock round-of-32 defeat to Morocco. When the stakes rose, Gakpo rose with them.

Liverpool now need that version of Gakpo. With Hugo Ekitike sidelined until at least January after rupturing his Achilles, and Alexander Isak shouldering the central goalscoring burden, there is a growing sense that Gakpo may be asked to operate more through the middle next season. The club are not actively pushing him towards the exit. Quite the opposite: they remain calm, convinced there is more to come.

Yet the market has started to circle.

Tottenham Hotspur have placed Gakpo on their winger shortlist, and they are not alone. United, according to Jacobs, have never really taken their eyes off him since missing out in 2022. Speaking to The United Stand, the reporter laid out the reality of the situation.

“He has always been somewhat appreciated, but we know that Man Utd and Liverpool just don’t really do business,” Jacobs said, underlining the deep-rooted barrier between the two rivals.

He added that there are firm denials from Liverpool that Gakpo has asked to leave “in any way, shape, or form,” a stance that has helped keep the mood relatively relaxed at Anfield.

Liverpool’s stance, though, has not deterred interest. Tottenham, Jacobs suggested, are currently the most serious contender. If Gakpo does go to his employers and formally request a move, that is when the real scramble would begin. At that point, Premier League clubs would have a decision to make. Spurs appear ready.

For United, the fascination with Gakpo is not new. Erik ten Hag pushed hard for his signing when he arrived at Old Trafford in 2022, seeing the PSV star as the ideal wide forward to spearhead his rebuild. United hesitated. Liverpool did not. They struck a £35 million agreement that December and wrapped up the deal in time for the January window, leaving United to watch a priority target walk into their fiercest rival’s dressing room.

That frustration has never fully faded. United are understood to have tracked Gakpo’s progress closely ever since, measuring his output, his role, his adaptability. The admiration remains. The obstacle remains larger.

While United ponder the political and practical nightmare of prising a player from Liverpool, Spurs are moving with fewer emotional complications. Gakpo is one of several high-level attacking options on their list, alongside Rafael Leao, Savinho and Antonio Nusa. It is an ambitious, forward-thinking shortlist, and Gakpo fits neatly into it: Premier League-ready, versatile, and still with room to grow.

Liverpool, for their part, are open to a very specific kind of conversation. They are not hawking Gakpo around Europe. But a serious bid would at least be heard. The number is clear: around £70 million. Anything less, and the phone goes down.

So the stage is set. A winger whose form has flickered but not disappeared, a club that needs him to step up, a London side ready to pounce, and a Manchester giant still haunted by the one that got away.

If Cody Gakpo does walk into the manager’s office and ask for a move, will Liverpool really be able to keep the door shut – and who will be waiting on the other side?