Liverpool Transfer News: Why Cody Gakpo Should Not Be Sold This Summer
As the summer window moves into its final stretch, Liverpool transfer news has settled on a familiar theme, noise, speculation and the usual rush to manufacture uncertainty. This time, Cody Gakpo is in the middle of it. According to John Aldridge for The Liverpool Echo, Liverpool would be making a serious mistake if they allowed the Dutch forward to leave before the deadline.
That assessment is hard to argue with. Liverpool are not operating from a position of excess. They finished fifth in 2025/26, the season drifted badly, Arne Slot was sacked on 30 May 2026, and Andoni Iraola has walked into a squad that needs sharper edges, more reliability and better output. You do not fix that by weakening your options in August.
Aldridge put it plainly: “I’m not saying Liverpool need to have a squad capable of challenging for the title, but we have to give ourselves a chance of a top-four finish, so the talk about Cody Gakpo potentially leaving is worrying. Liverpool cannot sell him. It would be insane to do that.”
That is blunt, but correct. Liverpool need depth across four competitions. They need attackers who can start, rotate and alter games from the bench. Gakpo may not have delivered elite numbers last season, but squads are not built by removing proven internationals and hoping the market produces a clean replacement at the right price, in the right timeframe, with no adaptation period.
Cody Gakpo Exit Talk Makes Little Football Sense
The Tottenham links are understandable in one respect. Gakpo remains a useful, versatile attacker with strong pedigree. He can play across the front line, he knows the league, and there is enough talent there for another club to believe there is more to unlock. That does not mean Liverpool should facilitate it.
He also ended last season showing signs of life. Performances against Monaco and Como suggested there is still substance behind the player, even if the campaign overall was underwhelming. In a better structured attacking setup under Iraola, there is every chance Gakpo becomes more productive again.
Aldridge also made the broader point: “Liverpool need to be buying players – not selling them”. Again, no drama, no romanticism, just common sense.
Bradley Barcola Factor Could Shape Liverpool Transfer Decision
The only obvious caveat is Bradley Barcola. If Liverpool land the Paris Saint-Germain winger, the conversation changes. Not completely, but enough to make executives listen if Tottenham came forward with a serious offer, something in the region of £70m has been mentioned in wider reporting.
Even then, this should be viewed carefully. Squad registration limits matter, but quality matters more. Liverpool already need a better season from several attacking players. Selling one of the few who has experience, physical presence and tactical flexibility carries risk.
So this is straightforward. If Barcola does not arrive, Gakpo should stay. If Barcola does arrive, Liverpool still need to be absolutely certain they are improving the squad rather than simply balancing lists and accounts. Otherwise they will have learned nothing from last season.
Our View
From a Liverpool supporter’s perspective, this feels like one of those stories that should not even get close to becoming real. Gakpo has had frustrating spells, no doubt, but frustration is not the same thing as redundancy. Fans watched a squad fall short last season because it lacked consistency, intensity and enough players who could change matches. Selling one of the senior forwards without certainty over a replacement would look careless.
There is also the bigger issue of timing. Late-window deals are where clubs make panicked decisions and then spend months pretending they meant to do it all along. If Iraola is trying to rebuild confidence and get Liverpool back into the Champions League places, keeping reliable options matters. Gakpo may not be a guaranteed starter every week, but he is unquestionably part of the solution more than the problem.
If a new winger comes in, supporters will understand the club at least considering the market. But even then, many fans would still ask why Liverpool are so eager to create another decision point in a squad that already needs stabilising. This team does not need more churn for the sake of it. It needs better judgement. On this one, the simple answer is probably the right answer, keep Gakpo and strengthen around him.
