Cody Gakpo could be a Manchester City player before Monday night. City opened talks with Liverpool late on Saturday, and the Netherlands forward has already turned Tottenham down.
.jpg?width=1000)
Sky Sports News reported the approach at 22:10 on Saturday. One source told them the move is advancing in City's direction. Liverpool now have to make a decision with the clock running down, which is exactly the position no selling club wants to be in.
Why City want him
Enzo Maresca has spent this window losing wide players. Savio and Omar Marmoush both went to Tottenham. Jack Grealish has interest from Everton and Sunderland. Strip all of that out and City's options on the flanks look thin for a squad expected to compete on four fronts.
Gakpo fits what Maresca needs in a practical way rather than a glamorous one. He can play left wing, he can play through the middle, and he has three and a half seasons of Premier League football behind him. There is no adaptation period to budget for.
Why Liverpool might say yes
Bradley Barcola is having a medical at Liverpool on Sunday. The fee is £106m, potentially rising to £123m. Liverpool also signed Victor Munoz earlier in the summer, and Munoz scored the late equaliser against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Do the maths and Gakpo drops down the pecking order. He is 27, he is not going to be happy watching, and Liverpool have just spent heavily. Selling him recoups a chunk of that.
The awkward part is timing. Contact came late. Liverpool cannot replace him now, so any sale means going into September a body light in attack.
Tottenham said no thanks, or rather he did
Goal reported that Gakpo rejected Spurs. Given how Saturday went for Tottenham, that is easy to understand. They lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle, Roberto De Zerbi is under real pressure, and the manager has since confirmed three players want to leave. Roughly £300m of summer spending has left them near the bottom of the table.
City are top-four regulars with a settled structure. It is not a close call for a player weighing up where to spend the next three years.
What happens next
- The Premier League window shuts at 23:00 BST on Monday 31 August
- Clubs can file a deal sheet and get two extra hours to complete paperwork
- Liverpool play again after the international break, so a departure now leaves them time to reorganise
- No fee has been reported yet for Gakpo
The bigger picture at Anfield
Andoni Iraola is still without a league win. Losing an experienced forward in the final 48 hours of the window is not obviously helpful, whatever the accounting says. But Liverpool have committed to Barcola, and squads only stretch so far.
If City get this done, Maresca ends a scrappy window with a player who knows the league and can start on Saturday. That is usually worth more in September than a project signing.
Sources: Sky Sports, BBC Sport, Goal.com
0 Comments