Liverpool do not need a reminder that tournament football can distort a transfer market. Cody Gakpo is now giving them one anyway.
The Dutch forward has pushed himself back into the summer conversation with a sharp World Cup, just as Tottenham interest continues to circle. This Is Anfield reported that Fabrizio Romano has reiterated Spurs’ interest, while Liverpool are expected to wait until after the tournament before making a final call. That delay is sensible. It also makes the next few weeks more delicate.
Gakpo is not a fringe asset with a short contract. Transfermarkt lists his Liverpool deal as running until 2030 and his market value at EUR60m. If a Premier League rival wants to turn World Cup heat into a serious bid, Liverpool should be asking a question closer to the Anthony Gordon bracket than the distressed-sale aisle.
Why The Price Has Moved
The argument for selling is obvious. Gakpo’s 2025/26 Premier League output was functional rather than explosive. StatMuse credits him with seven goals and five assists from 36 league appearances, a return that does not fully match the profile of a starting Liverpool wide forward.
Yet the World Cup has reframed the optics. The Guardian noted Gakpo among the Dutch scorers in the Netherlands’ 5-1 win over Sweden, and his international role has again highlighted the best version of his game: cleaner touches inside the box, more direct running, and fewer sterile possessions near the touchline.
That matters because buyers rarely pay only for last season’s club spreadsheet. They pay for a story they believe can be carried into their own system. Tottenham can sell themselves on the idea that Gakpo’s Liverpool dip was contextual, not terminal.
Iraola Cannot Strip The Attack Too Far
Liverpool’s problem is that the same logic also applies internally. Andoni Iraola has inherited a front line already being remodelled. Victor Munoz has arrived, Alexander Isak links continue to dominate the market conversation, and Read Liverpool recently covered how Gakpo’s World Cup form has attracted Tottenham attention.
Selling him would generate headroom, but it would also remove one of the few senior forwards who can play from the left, operate centrally, and survive in high-intensity pressing phases. That versatility is not glamorous. In a long season with Champions League, domestic cups and World Cup fatigue bleeding into pre-season, it is valuable.
The tactical question is not whether Gakpo has been flawless. He has not. The question is whether Liverpool can replace his minutes, positional coverage and tournament-inflated market value in the same window without weakening Iraola’s first squad before the rebuild has properly settled.
The Decision Should Be Brutally Conditional
Liverpool should not shut the door. A £70m-plus offer from Tottenham would deserve attention, particularly if the recruitment team has a higher-ceiling wide forward ready to move. Anything below that level should be treated as opportunism from a rival trying to buy at the exact moment Liverpool are under pressure to tidy the squad.
The club’s strongest position is patience. Let Gakpo finish the World Cup. Let Spurs show whether their interest is admiration or a bid with real weight. Then make the call from strength, not irritation.
There is also a dressing-room consideration. Iraola is trying to establish authority quickly, but selling a senior international to a domestic rival before his first full pre-season would create another pressure point. Liverpool can absorb churn when it is strategic. They should be wary of churn that simply creates another vacancy.
That is why the number matters. If Tottenham move beyond admiration and test Liverpool with a fee that reshapes the attacking budget, the debate changes. If not, Gakpo’s tournament has not made him expendable. It has made Liverpool’s valuation harder, sharper and more expensive.
