Manchester United Eye Cody Gakpo Amid Tottenham Interest

Manchester United’s long-standing admiration for Cody Gakpo has never really gone away. Now, with questions swirling around his future at Liverpool, that interest is edging back into the spotlight – even if the path to Old Trafford looks as fraught as ever.

Gakpo is coming off a flat domestic season by his own standards. Nine goals and six assists in 52 games for Liverpool is a steep drop from the 18 goals and seven assists he produced in 49 outings the year before. For a player signed to inject cutting edge and versatility into the front line, that regression has not gone unnoticed.

Yet when the stage grew bigger, Gakpo’s game grew with it. At the World Cup he looked like the player Liverpool thought they were getting at full tilt, scoring three times and adding an assist in four matches before the Netherlands were stunned by Morocco in the round of 32. On the biggest international platform, his movement, timing and finishing all returned with a vengeance.

Liverpool now need that version of Gakpo to reappear in club colours. With Alexander Isak expected to shoulder a heavy load centrally and Hugo Ekitike ruled out until at least January after rupturing his Achilles, the Dutchman could be asked to operate more regularly through the middle as well as off the left. There is a clear opportunity for him to re-establish himself as a central figure in the attack.

Yet the noise around him refuses to die down.

Tottenham Hotspur have placed Gakpo on their winger shortlist. Manchester United, according to one well-connected voice, have never truly cooled on him either. Speaking to The United Stand, reporter Ben Jacobs underlined just how complicated any move across the divide would be.

“He has always been somewhat appreciated, but we know that Man Utd and Liverpool just don’t really do business,” Jacobs said, cutting straight to the heart of the issue. “So, whether or not that could possibly get off the ground, I’m not so sure.

“There are denials, despite recent reports in the Netherlands, that Gakpo has asked in any way, shape, or form to leave.

“So, Liverpool are quite calm about the situation, but Tottenham might consider that deal. And all we can say is Man Utd loved Gakpo before he joined Liverpool.

“If Gakpo specifically asks to leave Liverpool, then let’s see whether Premier League clubs come forward. And it seems like Tottenham are the most concrete suitor.”

That last line matters. United’s interest is real and long-term, but Tottenham are currently in front of the queue.

The Old Trafford hierarchy know Gakpo well. Erik ten Hag pushed hard for United to sign him from PSV in 2022, when the forward had exploded as the Eredivisie club’s most exciting and productive talent. United hesitated. Liverpool didn’t. In December of that year they struck a £35m agreement, tying up a January transfer and leaving United to watch a target slip away to their fiercest rivals.

United have tracked him ever since. Scouting reports will have kept coming, numbers will have been logged, and the sense of “what if” has lingered. Yet as things stand, any realistic route out of Anfield for Gakpo leads towards north London, not across to Manchester.

Tottenham’s interest is part of a broader search for wide and attacking reinforcements. Gakpo sits on a list that also features Rafael Leao, Savinho and Antonio Nusa, a mix of established star power and emerging talent. Among that group, Gakpo offers Premier League experience, tactical flexibility and a price point that, while high, is at least clearly defined.

Liverpool are not actively trying to move him on. There is no formal transfer push, no open auction. Inside Anfield, the stance is calm: Gakpo stays unless someone tests their resolve. But that resolve has a number. An offer of around £70m would be taken seriously.

So the equation is simple, even if the politics are not. If Gakpo decides he wants out and formally asks to leave, the market opens. Tottenham are ready. Other Premier League clubs, including United, would have a decision to make.

Would Liverpool really sanction a sale to Old Trafford, even at a premium? Or will Gakpo’s next chapter, if it comes, be written in a different shade of white?