Liverpool have set an asking price ahead of crunch talks. Fabrizio Romano confirmed things are entering the key stages this week.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Monday that Tottenham Hotspur are pushing ahead for Cody Gakpo. The Dutchman is a surprise potential exit from Liverpool, who apparently didn’t plan on selling him this summer.
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But Spurs are eager and a little desperate after their horrendous showing last term. They’ve already spent big to sign Marco Senesi (though, on a free), Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United.
Savinho is another target from Manchester City but it’s Gakpo who represents their big move for a forward. He’s incredibly experienced and proven at this level, after all, and could now be Spurs’s Son Heung-min replacement.
"Tottenham plan to step up their efforts to try sign Cody Gakpo as talks will enter into key stages soon,” write Romano on Twitter.
"Gakpo, option in addition to Savinho who remains another top target.
"Deal depends on Liverpool intentions/price as Gakpo’s not on exit list."
Now, Anfield Watch understands that the asking price for Gakpo is set: £72m. We exclusively revealed that figure at the weekend after Spurs’ initial approach.
Whether they’re happy to offer it is another matter and we’re not entirely sure how this deal gets done. For one, Liverpool probably should sell. They signed Victor Munoz this summer and hope to bring in Bradley Barcola.
That creates a very, very crowded left-wing, especially with Rio Ngumoha already there. Gakpo just isn’t entirely necessary if clubs are willing to pay big money for him.
And so we do wonder if Liverpool accept an offer below that £72m figure. We imagine it’s actually just a starting point - setting the price high to meet at a more reasonable figure after talks.
Fortunately, we shouldn’t have to wait too much longer before finding out.