Liverpool Echo

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Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur as talks for Bradley Barcola continue

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch believes the sale of Cody Gakpo to Tottenham Hotspur would pave the way for Bradley Barcola to join from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Reds have made France winger Barcola their No.1 priority this summer as they seek to replace Mohamed Salah, who has joined Turkish side Trabzonspor as a free agent, after the final year of his Anfield contract was cancelled.

Liverpool have been in talks with PSG over a potential club-record deal this summer but are reluctant to meet the asking price of around £140m and are aiming to bring down the fee as negotiations continue.

Meanwhile Netherlands star Gakpo has been linked with a move to Spurs this summer and Crouch, who had spells with both clubs, believes that would be a smart move from the north London outfit.

Crouch told Paddy Power: “It does look like they’ll be getting rid of Gakpo potentially to Spurs, so they need a top-quality winger to come in. Barcola is a player I really like.

“Look, no-one is ever going to be able to replace [Mo] Salah goals-wise, but he’s immensely talented and would be a good signing.

“PSG have got top wingers in (Khvicha) Kvaratskhelia and (Desire) Doue so it’s hard for (Barcola) to compete and play 90 minutes regularly, but I think he’d walk into most people’s teams in Europe.

“Gakpo (would) do really well (at Spurs). He would go straight into the squad and be one of the main men.

“Going forward has obviously been a problem for Spurs the last couple of seasons. Certainly last year they missed a lot of creativity and a lot of goals.

“Gakpo would bring something different to the team for sure.”

Liverpool's pre-season period ends on Sunday when they play two back-to-back friendlies with Cesc Fabregas's Como.

Liverpool sent Tottenham Hotspur warning over Cody Gakpo transfer - 'don't understand why'  Liverpool Echo

Liverpool could step up their transfer activity with their pre-season tour of the USA now finished

Liverpool's urgency to enter the transfer market has arguably intensified. The Reds concluded their pre-season tour of the USA on Sunday night with a sobering 4-2 defeat to Leeds United.

The Reds have only signed one player so far this summer, Spanish winger Victor Munoz, with Jeremy Jacquet also arriving following an agreement to sign the defender from Rennes in February. Sunday's game proved a tale of two halves from Andoni Iraola's side as Liverpool established a convincing 2-0 advantage in the first half and appeared completely dominant.

Leeds then overwhelmed a heavily rotated Liverpool after the interval and dealt the Basque head coach his first loss since taking charge. The fallout has prompted numerous supporters on social media to demand additional signings, with the Reds requiring reinforcements in defence and attack before the window shuts.

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Today's developments see the Bradley Barcola saga take an unexpected turn. Meanwhile, Liverpool star Cody Gakpo has reportedly emerged as a target for Tottenham Hotspur.

Bradley Barcola timeline emerges

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that renewed contact will take place between the Reds and PSG this week. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: "New contacts [will be] prepared between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain."

Reports have indicated that Barcola is enthusiastic about a switch to Anfield, despite also attracting attention from the likes of Arsenal. Romano added that "conversations will continue next week", though he insisted no agreement is close, affording the Reds a more extended timeframe to finalise the deal.

PSG are reportedly seeking around £145m for the French international, though Liverpool are understood to be keen to drive that figure down considerably. Romano has suggested the deal could drag on throughout the summer, adding that it now "depends on Liverpool, on how much they want to spend."

Spurs in for Cody Gakpo

Spurs are said to be eyeing Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, though the Reds are reluctant to part ways with the Dutch star. Sky Sports reports that Liverpool would be prepared to sanction Gakpo's departure only if a suitable replacement could be found.

The Netherlands international still has four years remaining on his contract, and talkSPORT has indicated that Liverpool would likely demand in the region of £70m for the winger.

Gakpo made 52 appearances for Liverpool last season, contributing nine goals and six assists. Should he leave without a replacement being brought in, it would leave Liverpool relying solely on teenage prospect Rio Ngumoha and new signing Victor Munoz out wide.

Spurs have splashed out £237m this summer and manager Roberto De Zerbi has hinted more is to come. "The transfer market, it's not finished for sure, but we completed 60 per cent of our project in the transfer market. Now we have another bomba!" he told football.london last week.

Liverpool could reportedly be open to selling Cody Gakpo to Tottenham Hotspur this summer

Liverpool star Cody Gakpo is reportedly attracting interest from Tottenham Hotspur this summer, with Reds boss Andoni Iraola set to make a decision on the winger.

The Reds have been tipped to have a busy summer transfer window as they prepare for their return to Premier League action under new manager Iraola.

Victor Munoz remains the only new addition to the Liverpool squad in a deal that was completed this summer, with Jeremy Jacquet also arriving after a transfer was agreed back in February.

Gakpo’s contract at Liverpool runs until the summer of 2030, having only put pen to paper on an extension less than a year ago.

Following the arrival of Iraola as the club’s new manager to replace Arne Slot, Gakpo’s future has been the subject of intense speculation.

The 27-year-old recently returned to pre-season training at the AXA Training Centre following his involvement with the Netherlands national team at the World Cup.

Fabrizio Romano, speaking on the latest edition of the Here We Go Podcast, has flagged Gakpo's potential move to Spurs as a transfer worth monitoring. He anticipates the club will bring in two wide players, identifying Savinho as their primary target.

Following Mohamed Salah's departure and the Achilles injury suffered by Hugo Ekitike, much of the speculation surrounding Liverpool's forward options has been around new additions, rather than potential outgoings.

Iraola spoke earlier this month about the importance of Liverpool bringing more new faces to the club before the transfer window closes.

"We've signed two players, we need more, we know this," Iraola said during his first press conference as Liverpool boss earlier this month.

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"We are working on this. As a coach I want the players here from day one, selfishly, but we know it doesn't work like this, we're working hard for those signings."

In an interview with football.london, Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi said that strengthening their attack remains the priority, amid rumours of potential interest in Gakpo.

"It's not finished yet, our transfer window. We have to finish," De Zerbi said.

"The target now is to complete the attacking positions. We want the top level, because we already have important players, but I think to start a new project, we need another couple of important players for sure."

We have to bring another couple, maybe more, maybe not less, but a couple of players. I'm very happy, I'm excited to work with the new players, with the old players.”

The Dutch defender has been linked with a possible move to Liverpool, but seems happy with recent developments in north London

Micky van de Ven believes Tottenham have “new ambition” after a £237million summer spending spree, with the rumoured Liverpool target insisting the future looks bright in north London.

After Spurs narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, majority owners the Lewis family promised to be “all in” to fund the required rebuild and six arrivals have followed.

Tottenham have broken their transfer record twice, firstly for £85m midfielder Mateus Fernandes before a £100m package secured Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, and Van de Ven acknowledged Europe is the aim for a club which has finished 17th two years in a row.

Liverpool have been linked with the Dutch defender in dispatches, although the ECHO understands the Reds have never acted upon any potential interest in him.

“It’s really good that you can see the club has made some changes,” Van de Ven told British media on Spurs’ pre-season tour of Australia.

“They have brought a really good new manager, in my opinion, and some really good new signings. You can see the club has new ambition. It’s something that’s really important for players that have been there for a long time.

“Spurs is a team that needs to play Europe every year, so obviously the European spots are something we are going to aim for. The most important thing is we play our football and that we are a difficult team to play against.”

It has been 12 months of change at Tottenham with long-serving chairman Daniel Levy exiting in September, months after a Europa League triumph which ended a 17-year trophy drought.

Levy’s departure was followed by another spell of poor form, which resulted in Thomas Frank being dismissed in February before interim boss Igor Tudor only lasted seven games.

However, with the Lewis family holding more power and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham tasked with turning around Spurs’ fortunes, De Zerbi was hired in March and Van de Ven backed the Italian to bring back the attacking flair lacking under Frank.

Van de Ven added: “It’s going to be different compared to the former manager we had last season. It’s going to be more with the ball, more playing football. I think it’s going to be more enjoyable for people to watch playing offensive football.”

Andy Robertson has revealed why he decided to sign for Tottenham Hotspur following the end of his Liverpool contract

Andy Robertson has explained his decision to join Tottenham Hotspur following the expiry of his Liverpool contract. The Scotland international called time on a nine-year stint at Anfield, having fallen behind Milos Kerkez in the pecking order during his final season on Merseyside.

Spurs had been interested in signing the left-back in January, only for both Liverpool and Robertson to decide it would be best for him to see out the campaign at Anfield.

But with Tottenham retaining their interest, the 32-year-old needed little convincing to join the North London outfit on a Bosman transfer once his Anfield contract expired.

“I’m excited to be here… I was very fortunate, I’ve not had to do it (move clubs) for so long. Being at one club for nine years is a long time. But it’s also exciting.

“It’s perfect for this time in my career and that’s why when the opportunity came up to join, I was excited to go for it and now that I’m here, I’m excited to keep progressing in my career and keep doing good things. Hopefully I can do that in a Tottenham shirt.

“I don’t think that it’s a secret that it nearly happened in January and it didn’t for one reason or another. But then once the January window closed, a lot of options came away.

“It was all about making the right decision. I just think this club is a massive club with an amazing training ground, amazing stadium and a big fanbase. I’ve played here plenty of times and I know that the supporters get right behind their team.

“It’s a really big club and a club that’s going places. The last couple of years from a league point of view have maybe not been up to the standards that the Tottenham fans expect.

“Last season they showed a lot of tenacity to get to the end and stay up, but now, even being in from day one, there’s a huge determination to not allow that to happen again. It’s up to us to make sure we’re better and to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

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Meanwhile, Robertson also admitted that the opportunity to work with Roberto De Zerbi - who previously managed his former Liverpool team-mates James Milner and Adam Lallana at Brighton & Hove Albion - also played a decisive role in his decision to sign for Spurs.

“The manager is a huge pull,” he told the club. “I’ve had chats with him, I’ve had a phone call with him and both him and his staff seem so good at what they do and how they want to play.

“It was a great phone call. We know of each other – he knows me as a player, I know him as a manager and it was just more that we were excited to work with each other.

“He’s well-known in world football for being a fantastic manager and the fact that he’s here, hopefully I can do really good things under him. I think this is a club that’s going places and it's the perfect time for me to be a part of it.”