Tottenham Hotspur will have to break the bank to sign Cody Gakpo from Liverpool. The 27-year-old winger has been heavily linked with a move to the Lilywhites this summer as Roberto De Zerbi looks to strengthen his attacking options, but the price tag could prove to be an issue.
football.london understands that Spurs are interested in signing Gakpo, whose contract at Anfield expires in June 2030. Unlike Savinho, who Tottenham have tried to prise from Manchester City in the past, the Netherlands international can play anywhere across the frontline, making him an attractive option.
If the Lilywhites are to sign Gakpo, Johan Lange must be prepared to take the total expenditure for the transfer window to just under £300million. According to Dutch outlet VI, the Reds want at least £60m for the Dutchman, whom they signed from PSV Eindhoven for just £40m in December 2022.
If Spurs were to pay such a fee, Gakpo would become the fourth most expensive player in Liverpool history, behind only Luis Diaz, who last year joined Bayern Munich for £65.5m, Luis Suarez, who joined Barcelona for £75m in July 2014, and Philippe Coutinho, who joined the Catalan giants for about £140m in January 2018.
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The report claims that the Reds would be more than happy to keep Gakpo, though, leaving the ball in his court. VI reckon that De Zerbi views the forward as an 'exceptional player' who's the 'missing link' in his frontline.
So far this summer, Spurs have forked out £237m on three defenders, two midfielders, and a goalkeeper. At the start of the pre-season tour of Australia, the Tottenham boss expressed his desire to bolster the 'attacking positions'.
De Zerbi said: "The target now is to complete the attacking positions. We want the first target, the first level, because anyway we are already important players, but I think to start the new project we need another couple of important players, for sure."
A few days later, he teased that a 'bomba' signing could be in the works. De Zerbi said: "We completed 60 per cent of our project in the transfer market. Now we have another bomba. Is it close? I hope, but it’s not finished for sure.
"We have to increase the number of goals with the play, with the quality of the play, with the midfielders, with the attackers, but we have to bring players able to score goals.
"The idea in the transfer market is 24 hours per day you think what is the best player to put inside. You read the news, he’s going, he’s leaving. I love working in the transfer market.
"It’s not a pressure, it’s one of the nicest part in my work, in my job. In the transfer market, when I want one player, I become like a shark. No chance to say no."
De Zerbi later downplayed the possibility of a marquee addition, claiming 'bomba' has a different definition in Italian than English. If Tottenham are to sign a forward this summer, Lange will have to get a move on: the new Premier League season is just around the corner...