Liverpool's Transfer Window Challenges: Gakpo's Future at Stake

Liverpool are back in familiar territory. It’s August, the season looms, and the sense around Anfield is that the club have made life more complicated than it needed to be.

This was billed as a statement summer. Back in June, the message was clear: Liverpool would be aggressive, rebuild properly and hand Andoni Iraola the tools to launch a new era. A reshaped attack, fresher legs, real depth. That was the promise.

The reality has been slower. And far more frustrating.

Big plans, thin returns

Yan Diomande was supposed to be the marquee arrival, the forward to step into the space Mohamed Salah has occupied for so long. Another high-end winger was expected to follow, giving Iraola a front line that could be rotated without a drop in quality.

None of that has materialised.

Liverpool missed out on Diomande. Ronald Araujo and Victor Munoz have come through the door, adding some quality and padding out the squad, but the glaring weaknesses are still there for everyone to see. The squad does not yet look like one built for a manager trying to impose an intense, front-foot style.

And then there’s the logjam.

Non-homegrown squeeze bites

Liverpool’s non-homegrown quota is full. That’s not just an administrative detail; it’s a handbrake. Several players considered surplus are still on the books, taking up valuable spots and blocking new arrivals.

Names like Wataru Endo, Calvin Ramsay and Federico Chiesa sit at the heart of the issue. At least one of them needs to move on before Liverpool can register further overseas signings. Until that happens, every negotiation comes with an asterisk.

So the club wait. And negotiate. And wait some more.

Talks with PSG over a double move for Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye are ongoing. On paper, it’s an ambitious play: two young, high-upside forwards who would immediately change the complexion of Liverpool’s attack. In practice, it all hinges on whether Liverpool can clear space and close both deals in time.

The clock is ticking.

Gakpo becomes the pivot point

Amid all this, the noise around Cody Gakpo is getting louder.

Gakpo is a Premier League winner and has been an important part of Liverpool’s attacking rotation. He has contributed, adapted, done the work asked of him. Yet there is a growing sense inside the club that a serious offer would at least be heard.

At first glance, it feels counterintuitive. This is a squad already short of attacking options. Why even entertain the idea of losing another senior forward?

Because it explains the urgency around Barcola and Mbaye.

If Liverpool land both, Iraola suddenly has a very different forward line at his disposal. More pace, more variety, more flexibility. In that scenario, a Gakpo sale becomes less of a gamble and more of a strategic reshaping of the attack, especially if the fee is substantial.

And there will be a market.

Tottenham circle as Liverpool push for Barcola

Tottenham are keen on Gakpo. The Netherlands international fits the profile they like: versatile, proven in the league, entering his prime. If the right bid arrives, nobody at Anfield would be shocked to see him heading to north London before the window shuts.

Liverpool, though, cannot afford to get the sequence wrong.

Letting Gakpo go without securing replacements would be reckless given the current state of the squad. Any exit would have to be tied tightly to arrivals. Barcola and Mbaye are central to that equation.

If they come in, Liverpool can justify cashing in on Gakpo and using the money to complete the attacking rebuild that was promised in June. If they don’t, the Dutchman’s departure would leave Iraola short and the fanbase furious.

Right now, the momentum is with Barcola.

Barcola move accelerates

In France, Le Parisien report that Barcola’s future is moving quickly and could be resolved within days. The winger is expected to change clubs soon and, at this stage, Liverpool are effectively the only serious suitor left in the race.

That narrows the picture. It also raises the stakes.

If Liverpool get Barcola over the line, it could trigger the domino effect the entire window has been waiting for: non-homegrown space freed, Mbaye pushed through, and a firm decision made on Gakpo’s future.

For now, it’s still a waiting game. But not for much longer.

Barcola to Anfield in a matter of days? If that happens, Liverpool’s attack – and possibly Gakpo’s career path – could look very different by the time this window slams shut.