If last week had gone ever so slightly differently, Cody Gakpo would be spending today in recovery mode after a trip to Porto, preparing for his first Manchester derby.
The Liverpool and Netherlands winger was close to becoming just the sixth man since the turn of the century to swap Merseyside red for Manchester blue, or vice versa.
With a few days left of the transfer window, it was thought Liverpool were happy to pocket a healthy sum for Gakpo – north of £80million – and reinvest it on another winger, such as Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh or Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr.
Enzo Maresca wanted a wide man that could also play as a back-up No 9 and Gakpo fit the bill perfectly. He was preferred ahead of Iliman Ndiaye, whom City signed instead when Liverpool pulled the plug on Gakpo’s departure.
Modern football fans celebrate transfers as much as goals, so the thrill at a new boy potentially arriving generated a buzz among some Liverpool supporters who did not seem overly fussed about Gakpo’s prospective exit.
After all, last season was a disappointing one for the 27-year-old. He managed seven league goals, only three fewer than in the previous campaign, but beyond the numbers, his performance levels dropped. Like many team-mates, he was inconsistent.
Cody Gakpo has started the season in brilliant form, a major step up from the inconsistency he showed in 2025-26
Had things gone a little differently in the last few days of the transfer window, Gakpo might have been making his Man City debut last night
Gakpo and his representatives had decided to join City, turning down advanced interest from Tottenham. A few signatures on a dotted line were all that was needed to complete the move in his eyes, though Liverpool ultimately blocked it.
The questions their recruitment team pondered in the final days of the market were these: would Minteh or Sarr really be an upgrade on Gakpo? Is it time to give up on a player that signed a five-year deal in August 2025? Will he perform better under the new manager?
Let’s answer those in turn. Minteh, 22, has a high ceiling and may develop into a better player than Gakpo but is injured and there are no guarantees he will fulfil his potential. Sarr is 28 and the way he kicked up a fuss at Crystal Palace to force a move was a red flag.
Selling Gakpo now, when both parties committed their future to each other just 12 months ago, always seemed a strange move and evidence of a lack of joined-up thinking. Signing three wingers in one window (after Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz) would also have represented a huge turnover.
New boss Andoni Iraola is thought to be a huge fan of Gakpo, for his work off the ball as well as on it, with the Dutchman a key component of the relentless and intense pressing patterns Iraola demands of his team.
With Hugo Ekitike a long-term absentee through injury, Gakpo’s versatility is key. He can play down the middle, off both flanks and even in midfield.
Iraola and Gakpo held discussions about his situation every day during the window and were both very honest and open. Iraola liked how the player still put in 100 per cent every day in training sessions, despite the speculation about his future. Other players may not have done the same in that situation.
Gakpo never kicks up a fuss, trains well and is regarded by many as a key member of the dressing room. Many modern footballers have egos bigger than their price-tags but Gakpo is a rounded individual and a likeable personality.
Gakpo provided two assists in Liverpool’s impressive 2-0 win at Ipswich. No Premier League player has more than his four goal contributions this term
He never kicks up a fuss, trains well and is regarded by many of his team-mates as a key member of the dressing room
In an interview with Daily Mail Sport in Singapore a few years back, Gakpo discussed how he spent the flight listening to gospel music. He tries to learn a different Bible verse each week and has travelled to Togo, his father’s homeland, for charity projects.
‘Cody is a very smart player,’ said the boss last Friday. ‘He’s in a good place, physically and mentally. I am very happy to keep Cody because he is a very valuable player.’
Captain Virgil van Dijk also pleaded with his compatriot to stay and – along with many others – has rallied around Gakpo after a traumatic summer off the pitch. The 27-year-old and his partner, Noa, lost their son during pregnancy. They named him Elijah.
Gakpo remained in the United States during this heartbreaking period and scored three goals in the World Cup, starting every game as the Netherlands were dumped out in the round of 32 against Morocco in a penalty shootout.
He has carried that form into the new club season, with a goal against Newcastle, an assist against Nottingham Forest and two more against Ipswich. That’s the joint-most goal contributions of any player in the Premier League.
His two assists last Friday and his link-up with Alexander Isak, Munoz and Florian Wirtz almost made you forget that £123million marquee signing Bradley Barcola was sitting on the bench. Gakpo and Co were so good that it did not feel outrageous to question how Barcola gets in the side, at least to begin with.
The Frenchman will break into the XI in due course, and might do so tonight against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League after Gakpo was left out of training yesterday as a precaution, but Liverpool now have an attack that can beat anyone, also featuring wonderkid Rio Ngumoha and with Ekitike to return.
Gakpo might not be as flashy as big-money additions Isak and Barcola – but he is still an extremely handy player that has been loved by Jurgen Klopp, Arne Slot and now Iraola.
Gakpo endured a traumatic summer, losing his unborn son Elijah while he was at the World Cup
He has been adored by all three of his managers at Liverpool and looks back to his best despite the speculation around his future
His best days came at the start of his Liverpool career and then in the title-winning campaign of 2024-25, when he had Luis Diaz breathing down his neck. The competition was healthy: the two shared minutes and played with a point to prove.
With Barcola, Munoz and Ngumoha now doing the same, we could see Gakpo return to his best.
Before he joined Liverpool in a £44million deal in January 2023, Gakpo left his future to chance. Ahead of a game for PSV Eindhoven, he spoke to a pastor who told him he would ultimately join Liverpool after Manchester United had pulled out of a deal to sign him in summer 2022.
So Gakpo, in his prayers, said that if he scored one goal in the game, he would join Southampton; two, he would join Leeds; any other number he would stay until January. Both clubs were going all out for him at the time after United had opted to sign Antony instead.
The flying Dutchman scored a hat-trick and ended up staying. Six months later, on the back of a fine World Cup that December in Qatar, he joined Liverpool.
Despite a flirtation with City, he is still there. Maresca’s loss is Iraola’s gain.
