Cody Gakpo appears to face an uncertain future at Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to swoop in and secure his signature.
Micky van de Ven, Jan Paul van Hecke and Xavi Simons could be the secret to signing Cody Gakpo from Liverpool this summer. The 27-year-old forward has recently been linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Roberto De Zerbi looks to bolster his frontline.
According to journalist Nicolo Schira, the Lilywhites boss wants to sign Gakpo, whose contract at Anfield expires in June 2030. The report claims that De Zerbi views the Netherlands international as ‘key’ to his project in north London, and Spurs are ready to submit an ‘important’ bid.
As it stands, it remains to be seen whether or not Tottenham will formalise its interest in Gakpo. In the meantime, the Dutchman has been tipped to significantly bolster the starting lineup, bringing the ‘experience and a winning mentality’ that Johan Lange has been keen to target so far in the transfer window.
“Gakpo would definitely add quality and address a problem area for Tottenham, especially for the last few seasons when [Wilson] Odobert was out, [Mohammed] Kudus was out, [Dejan] Kulusevski was out,” said Alan Hutton, who first made a name for himself in the Premier League at Tottenham, where he made 51 appearances.
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“Decent players for them, and they need more in wide areas. They need more goals coming from wide areas, they need more supply for the likes of Solanke and Richarlison.
“I think Gakpo would bring that along with experience and a winning mentality. He’s been used to the pressure, and he can handle it. But not only can he play wide, but if you need him to play through the middle, he can do that as well.
“That is another strength that can always help the team move forward,” added Hutton, speaking to Betarades. “Getting these types of quality players who’ve been there, seen it and done it is only going to lift them to the next level.
“And it’s something that they need because the last two seasons just haven’t been good enough.”
If Van de Ven, Van Hecke, and Simons can’t sweet-talk Gakpo into making the switch, the Dutchmen will have to call Andy Robertson and hope he can pull a few strings. The 32-year-old defender, who will join Tottenham following the expiration of his contract at Liverpool this month, worked closely with Gakpo in Merseyside.
Over four seasons, Robertson shared the pitch 120 times with the Spurs target, winning the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. On what the Scotland international will bring to Tottenham, Hutton said: “One thing I would expect, knowing him, he’ll expect to play.
“I know that’s not a given, but he will come in with that attitude that he wants to play every single week. He’ll train and perform at a high level. He is such an experienced player in terms of playing for the Scottish national team, playing for a Liverpool side that won almost everything.
“He’s used to that big game mentality and the pressure that comes with it, the crowd expecting to win trophies year in and year out. And I think that can only help Tottenham.”
The former Spurs defender continued: “He’s a leader. He’s the Scotland captain. I’m sure he was a big personality in that Liverpool dressing room that had huge characters anyway. That’s something I feel they’ve been missing for a number of years.
“Not enough leaders, not enough characters that can voice their opinion and I think that’s what he brings. On the pitch, it’s obvious. His quality going forward, he can deliver balls into the box which attacking players feed off – I think they need more of that.
“Just his all-round ability to lift the squad. When I was at Villa, for example, and John Terry came in – as soon as he walked in the door, even though he was an older player, I remember that everyone sat up, took notice of everything he said and believed in it because he was a serial winner. And I feel that Andy Robertson will have a similar presence.”
Whether it’s the Dutchmen or the Scot, De Zerbi has four players in the dressing room who could help Lange convince Gakpo to join Tottenham this summer…
