Liverpool's Transfer Window: Elliott to Valencia and Gakpo Interest
Liverpool’s transfer window, already fraught with tension and delay, is edging towards a decisive – and potentially disruptive – final week.
Harvey Elliott is on the brink of leaving Anfield for Valencia, while Cody Gakpo has emerged as a serious target for Manchester City, piling more uncertainty onto a squad that still looks light in key areas.
Elliott pushes for Valencia move
Harvey Elliott’s Liverpool story is pausing, if not ending, in Spain.
After a flat loan spell at Aston Villa last season and with his route to regular minutes blocked, the midfielder has slipped down Andoni Iraola’s pecking order. Now, a move to La Liga is gathering pace.
Journalist Matteo Moretto first flagged Valencia’s interest, revealing that talks were advancing and that Elliott had already spoken directly with Iraola. The 21-year-old has made his stance clear: he wants the move.
“There is optimism between the parties,” Moretto reported on X, before adding that negotiations between Liverpool and Valencia are “very advanced” and that the deal being discussed is a loan.
Fabrizio Romano has since strengthened that line. According to Romano, Elliott has already agreed personal terms with Valencia after “positive talks,” leaving the clubs to thrash out the final details.
“Harvey Elliott has agreed personal terms with Valencia… Negotiations underway with Liverpool to get the deal done on club side,” Romano posted, confirming that Valencia have made an official approach and are battling rival proposals to secure the youngster.
Elliott has three offers on the table, but Valencia are pushing hardest. At this stage, all roads point to Mestalla.
Barcola in, exits mounting
All this unfolds against a backdrop of frustration at Liverpool.
The club have finally landed their long-term attacking target Bradley Barcola from PSG in a deal worth £100m plus add-ons, a huge outlay for a winger they see as a cornerstone of the new era. He will become their fourth summer signing after Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz.
Even with those arrivals, the squad still feels thin. Another forward, a midfielder and possibly a right-back are on the wishlist. Time is not.
Iraola, trying to impose his ideas with a small and shifting group, cuts the figure of a head coach left exposed as the deadline looms. More exits are expected before the window shuts. Elliott looks like one. He may not be the last.
Man City push for Gakpo
Just as Liverpool try to build around their new recruits, another storm cloud gathers: Cody Gakpo.
Football Insider report, via journalist Pete O’Rourke, that Manchester City are “pushing to agree a deal” for the Dutch forward, who has now become their “top target” after the departures of Savinho and Omar Marmoush to Tottenham.
“It’s a surprise that City are actively considering a move for Cody Gakpo,” O’Rourke said, noting that City’s need for attacking reinforcements has sharpened once Savio and Marmoush left. The Premier League champions are suddenly “a bit short in those attacking areas” and see Gakpo as a solution.
That pursuit adds a twist, because Tottenham have also tracked Gakpo for some time and, according to O’Rourke, have shown the “most concrete interest” in the forward this summer.
Now City have stepped into the race with serious intent. If they get their man, Liverpool would lose another attacking option at the very moment they are scrambling to strengthen.
Liverpool have landed a £100m winger, lined up a major talent exodus, and still need more bodies through the door. With Elliott closing on Valencia and City circling Gakpo, the final days of this window will say a lot about what kind of season Iraola is really being handed.
