‘Cannot be sold’ – Liverpool urged to ‘resist any temptation’ to cash in on £70m wizard
Two prominent Liverpool journalists have implored the club not to sell one exit-linked player in the final week of the summer transfer window.
The Reds’ first goal in their 2-2 draw away to Newcastle on Sunday was netted by Cody Gakpo with an emphatic low finish past Lukas Hornicek, with the Dutchman having now scored seven goals in his last eight matches for club and country.
The 27-year-old has been the subject of rumours over a potential move to Tottenham Hotspur, who’ve viewed him as a ‘serious option’ to bolster their attack according to Florian Plettenberg, but the clamour for him to remain at Anfield has ramped up after his exploits at St James’ Park yesterday.
Liverpool urged not to sell Cody Gakpo
James Pearce wrote for The Athletic: ‘Even if [Liverpool] get Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola on board, they need to resist any temptation to cash in on Cody Gakpo, who has been pursued by Tottenham Hotspur.
‘Gakpo, who scored their first equaliser at St James’ Park with a clinical 20-yarder, provides the added value of being able to operate through the middle as well as off the left, so the Dutchman can deputise for Isak when required.’
Gakpo, on the other hand, simply must be retained. In addition to his brilliantly-taken goal, his underlying performance figures (via Sofascore) were also impressive.
Pete O’Rourke told Football Insider earlier this month that Liverpool would only countenance selling the Dutchman if Spurs were to offer £70m+ and the Reds bring in more attackers before the transfer deadline on Tuesday week.
Even if a sale at that price would yield a significant profit on the £44m for which they signed Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven, the 27-year-old is simply too important to Iraola’s side right now to be put on the market.
Thankfully, with Spurs likely to complete a double raid on Manchester City for Savinho and Omar Marmoush (Sky Sports), their interest in our number 18 might diminish if they feel they’d have enough in attack.
