Tottenham Eyes Cody Gakpo as Liverpool Reconsiders Sale

Tottenham’s summer has already been loud. It might be about to get louder.

After throwing around roughly £230 million on Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka, most clubs would pause, breathe, and call it a window. Spurs are doing the opposite. The next move, they’ve decided, has to sharpen the attack.

And that is where Cody Gakpo walks into the story.

Liverpool’s stance begins to shift

For weeks, Liverpool’s message on Gakpo was simple: not for sale. Jürgen Klopp’s old frontline has already been chipped away, the wide areas look thin, and the club still haven’t found a long-term heir to Mohamed Salah. Losing another winger without a clear replacement would have been reckless.

Gakpo himself is coming off a disappointing 2025/26 campaign, one of several Liverpool forwards who never truly caught fire. Even so, he remained part of the plan. Four years left on his contract, prime age, and the kind of versatility managers cling to when options are scarce.

But the market has a way of changing minds.

Liverpool have already brought in Victor Munoz and are now accelerating their push for Bradley Barcola and another PSG player. Those pursuits have altered the mood at Anfield. The club, according to Fabrizio Romano, have started to soften on the idea of cashing in on Gakpo — if two key conditions are met.

Romano summed it up on X: Tottenham are in direct talks with Gakpo’s camp over a possible move this summer, with the deal hinging on Liverpool’s final decision. Back in July, the door was firmly shut. Now, it could swing open depending on the financial package and how the Barcola chase plays out.

Liverpool’s position is clear: they will only sell on their terms. With four years left on Gakpo’s deal, they can afford to be stubborn.

The price of opportunity

Those terms are not cheap. Reports this week suggest Liverpool want around £72 million for Gakpo, using Anthony Gordon’s £69 million move from Newcastle United to FC Barcelona as a reference point.

It’s a bold benchmark. Gordon’s fee reset parts of the winger market, and Liverpool are determined not to undersell an asset they once fought hard to sign. For Spurs, that figure represents both opportunity and risk. Pay it, and they land a proven international who can operate across the front line. Hesitate, and the door may slam shut again if Liverpool’s incoming business stalls.

For now, Tottenham are trying. That much Romano has made clear.

Spurs hunt a striker as well

Gakpo is only one piece of a wider attacking puzzle. Tottenham also want a striker, and they are casting the net inside the Premier League.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed that Spurs are “exploring the possibility” of bringing in a centre-forward before the window closes. Omar Marmoush is among the names discussed internally, but nothing is advanced yet.

Nicolas Jackson’s name keeps surfacing too, but the reality is more muted than the headlines. Despite recent reports, there is “nothing close or imminent” with Tottenham. He is not a priority, there are no advanced negotiations, and at this stage he is simply one of several profiles under consideration.

The more serious pressure around Jackson, for now, comes from elsewhere.

Villa, Jackson and Emery’s pull

Aston Villa view Jackson very differently. Romano describes him as one of their priority targets, a forward Unai Emery knows well from their time together at Villarreal and would “love” to coach again.

There is a complication. Villa have already taken Alejandro Garnacho on loan from Chelsea, which rules out another loan deal from the same club in this window. Any move for Jackson would have to be permanent, and that drags the conversation straight into the numbers.

How much can Villa spend? How hard will Chelsea push to keep or cash in? Those questions will decide whether Emery is reunited with a striker he trusts.

For Tottenham, that dynamic matters. If Villa move first and fast, Spurs lose one option. If the finances block Villa, Jackson stays on the wider market as a potential late-window swing.

Spurs’ next big call

So Tottenham stand at a familiar crossroads: pay elite money for Gakpo and secure a high-profile wide forward, or hold their nerve and keep flexibility for a striker and other late opportunities.

Liverpool, meanwhile, wait on two levers — the Barcola deal and the size of Tottenham’s offer — to decide whether they can afford to let Gakpo go.

Both clubs know the clock is ticking. The question now is simple: who blinks first?