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Liverpool were wise to keep Cody Gakpo with their forward line still under reconstruction
Had things gone a little differently, Cody Gakpo would have joined Manchester City this week. All the reporting suggested the Dutch attacker was on his way to the Etihad Stadium before the end of the summer transfer window in a move that had many Liverpool supporters scratching their chins in puzzlement.
Ultimately, Liverpool decided not to let Gakpo leave, rejecting an offer of €75m from City for the 27-year-old who was also of interest to Tottenham Hotspur. Considering how Gakpo has started the 2026/27 season, this looks to be a wise decision. The Anfield side are currently dependent on him.
Liverpool would have hoped for a stronger start to life under Andoni Iraola. Indeed, the Reds were somewhat fortunate to snatch a 2-2 draw away to Newcastle United on the opening weekend before another 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest. In both games, Liverpool’s strengths and weaknesses were on display.
Iraola has yet to forge his Liverpool team into the same defensive unit Bournemouth were under his stewardship. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez have been exposed in the full back positions while Jeremy Jacquet and Virgil Van Dijk are still getting used to each other after the former’s arrival in the summer transfer window.
The central midfield unit has also been vulnerable. Alexis Mac Allister has dropped off from two seasons ago when he thrived as a deep-lying playmaker for a Liverpool side that surged to the Premier League title. Ryan Gravenberch has similarly failed to reach the standards he previously set for himself.
Gakpo, however, has hit the ground running. The Dutchman scored Liverpool’s first league goal of the season in the 2-2 draw at St James’ Park and produced a wonderful assist for Alexander Isak to score from close range against Nottingham Forest. He has been Liverpool’s best player so far.
“Cody is playing very well for us,” said Iraola when asked about Gakpo’s performances to start the season and the speculation around his future on Merseyside with Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur both bidding for the wide forward. “He’s been very good since he came from the World Cup.
“I’d like to know how the market finishes, but at the moment I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can smell who we’re going to sign and what positions but experience shows you that if there’s an opportunity on the last day, you think: ‘If it’s going to improve us, then let’s take it’.”
Bradley Barcola’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain will change the landscape for Gakpo. The French international has been signed for a huge transfer fee of £123m to be a starting figure. Iraola needs some verticality in the final third and Barcola will offer that. He should be a good fit for the Anfield outfit.
If Barcola is Liverpool’s new starting winger on the left side, where will Gakpo fit in? The 27-year-old can operate through the middle as a centre forward, but Liverpool have Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak to play in that position. Gakpo could be squeezed out of the forward line, possibly explaining why Liverpool were willing to let him leave.
As Isak and Florian Wirtz prove, though, new signings sometimes take a while to settle in their new surroundings. It’s not guaranteed that Barcola will contribute from the moment he pulls on a Liverpool kit. Gakpo could still be an important player over the course of the season as a whole.
Gakpo’s Liverpool career has been an unusual one. He arrived after a breakthrough World Cup in 2022 and struggled to find a role for himself in Jurgen Klopp’s frontline. More recently, he has bridged the gap between the era dominated by Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane and the new age under Arne Slot and now Iraola. His job isn’t done yet.
