Cody Gakpo's Liverpool Future Secured After Man City Transfer Collapse

For most of the summer, Cody Gakpo looked like the Liverpool forward most likely to go. Now he suddenly looks central to everything.

The Dutchman, fresh from an eye-catching World Cup and a sharp start to the 2026/27 campaign, spent the window under a cloud of speculation. Inside Anfield, he had been quietly earmarked as a potential sale if the numbers hit a certain level. Outside, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur circled, convinced there was a deal to be done.

City pushed hardest. In the final days of the window, they moved to bring Gakpo in as the man to replace Savio. Financial terms were agreed, according to reports in the Netherlands, with both City and Spurs ready to meet a package of around €100 million. Gakpo chose City. The path seemed clear.

Then Liverpool slammed the door.

Dutch outlet Dagblad reported this week that Gakpo held talks with the club’s owners on Tuesday, a conversation described as partly to “clear the air” after the late collapse of his transfer. From the player’s side, the failure of the move came as a shock. From Liverpool’s side, the message now is unambiguous: there will be no alternative deal. He is staying.

The U-turn was not born from sentiment. It was born from football.

Liverpool did not sign a replacement. They looked at their squad, at the tactical demands of Andoni Iraola, and decided that Gakpo’s profile was too valuable to lose, even for “top dollar”. His ability to operate across the front line and drop into deeper roles has become a key plank in the club’s thinking for the season ahead.

“Gakpo will be a key player for Liverpool this season, definitely,” Football Insider reporter Pete O’Rourke said, reflecting the club’s stance.

The early evidence backs that up. Gakpo scored on the opening weekend against Newcastle and followed that with a smart assist against Nottingham Forest, underlining why Liverpool hesitated when City came calling.

He stretches defences when used wide. He links play when tucked inside. For a coach like Iraola, who leans on fluid movement and positional interchange, that flexibility is gold. Lose Gakpo now and Liverpool would not just be cashing in on a valuable asset; they would be tearing out a piece of the tactical jigsaw.

“They obviously considered Man City’s offer, they were willing to pay top dollar for Cody Gakpo,” O’Rourke noted. “But in the end Liverpool decided to keep him.”

The implication is clear: this was not a half-hearted decision. Iraola, still shaping his Liverpool, did not want to sacrifice a forward who can plug so many gaps and unlock so many systems.

The collapse of the City move has, in a strange way, reset the narrative around Gakpo at Anfield. From potential sale, he has been recast as a cornerstone. From expendable, to essential.

Now comes the real test: with the transfer noise silenced and the air cleared, can Gakpo turn Liverpool’s late change of heart into the kind of season that makes €100 million feel like a bargain they were right to refuse?