Tottenham are targeting Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo as manager Roberto de Zerbi continues to reshape his squad ahead of the new campaign.
Any potential deal faces significant obstacles, with Liverpool deeply reluctant to weaken their attacking department following Mohamed Salah’s departure from the club.
Hugo Ekitike’s ongoing recovery from an Achilles injury further limits Liverpool’s options, meaning they cannot afford to lose another experienced forward without consequence.
Liverpool are pursuing Paris St-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, but even a successful move would still leave them short of proven attacking quality at the top level.
Gakpo is often described simply as a left winger, yet his positional flexibility makes him a far more complex and valuable asset than that label suggests.
De Zerbi reportedly views Gakpo as a player capable of operating through the middle, dropping between the lines to link play before releasing runners in behind.
That profile aligns naturally with De Zerbi’s system, which asks centre forwards to vacate central spaces, combine with midfielders and create openings for wide players to attack.
His versatility would offer Tottenham important insurance across multiple positions, something neither Dominic Solanke nor Mathys Tel can fully provide in the same way.
Although Gakpo’s seven Premier League goals last season represented his lowest return in a full campaign at Anfield, the underlying data tells a much more encouraging story.
Only seven wingers across Europe’s top five leagues averaged more touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 minutes than his figure of 2.2, a remarkable benchmark for consistent box involvement.
He ranked inside the top ten across Europe for both open-play shots and chances created, confirming that his influence on attacking situations remained elite despite Liverpool’s difficult season.
Compared with positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues, Gakpo ranked in the 98th percentile for shot frequency, the 96th for advanced involvement and the 91st for box threat.
He was caught offside 30 times in the Premier League last season, more than any other player, illustrating his constant desire to attack space beyond the last defender.
Gakpo finished last season with more expected goals, more shots, more assists and more big chances created than any of Tottenham’s current forward options, despite Liverpool finishing fifth.
He recorded 187 touches in the opposition penalty area, compared with 125 for Richarlison, 68 for Tel and just 55 for a largely injured Solanke throughout the campaign.
Randal Kolo Muani, who spent last season on loan at Spurs before joining Juventus this summer, also trailed Gakpo’s output across nearly every meaningful attacking category.
Standing at 6ft 4in, Gakpo ranks in the 96th percentile for aerial volume among positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues, a physical asset rare among wide forwards.
Since November 2024, only Salah has scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool than Gakpo’s 17, a figure that underlines his sustained contribution at the highest level.
Since arriving from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023, Gakpo has scored seven, eight, ten and seven league goals across his four seasons at Anfield, a record of remarkable consistency.
Liverpool also know that much would rest on newcomer Victor Munoz and highly rated 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha if Gakpo were to leave, making his experience difficult to replace.
For Tottenham, his combination of tactical versatility, elite underlying numbers and physical presence represents exactly the kind of forward De Zerbi’s ambitious rebuild demands.
