Cody Gakpo's situation at Liverpool has turned into one of those debates where the numbers and the mood in the stands seem to belong to two different players. Seven league goals last season, which marks his worst return since arriving from PSV, and yet Tottenham are apparently circling, with Roberto de Zerbi reportedly viewing him as exactly the kind of forward who could unlock his front line. So which version of Gakpo is the real one?
Start with what the data actually says, because it tells a story the goal tally doesn't. Gakpo was averaging more touches in the opposition box per 90 than all but a handful of wingers across Europe's top five leagues. He ranked in the 98th percentile for shot frequency among his positional peers. He got caught offside more than anyone else in the Premier League (30 times) which sounds like a criticism until you realise it's mostly a byproduct of him constantly trying to get beyond the last defender rather than just receiving the ball with his back to goal.
That's not a player short on ‘end product’. That's a player whose end product kept getting called back by the flag.
Then there's the physical side of his game, which barely gets a mention when people talk about him. At 6ft 4in, he sits in the 96th percentile for aerial duels among wingers – something Spurs, in particular, would find useful against sides that sit deep and force crosses rather than through-balls. Add in his comfort playing centrally as a false nine or dropping deep to link play, and you've got a forward who solves more than one problem at once. Richarlison, Solanke and Tel – Tottenham's current options up front – don't offer that same range between them, let alone individually.
So why would Liverpool even entertain letting him go? Part of it comes down to who's picking the team now. Gakpo was one of Arne Slot's most trusted attackers, but Slot's gone and Andoni Iraola's in, and by most accounts Gakpo isn't the untouchable figure under the new manager that he was a year ago.
Add a significant fee into the mix, plus a school of thought that his numbers were more a product of Liverpool's broken system last season than anything to do with him personally, and selling suddenly looks less like a gamble and more like decent business. It's the kind of call that shows up in crypto betting circles too, where punters are already speculating on where he ends up before a ball's even been kicked on it.
But the counterargument is the more obvious one, and it's hard to ignore – Salah's gone, Ekitike's still working back from an Achilles injury, and Liverpool are still chasing Barcola rather than having him signed and settled. Even if that move goes through, you're relying heavily on Rio Ngumoha, still just 17, and a newly arrived Victor Munoz to cover for two established forwards leaving in the same window. That's a lot of faith to put in players with barely a season of senior football between them.
Since November 2024, only Salah has scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool than Gakpo. Only Salah and Szoboszlai have created more. Whatever the eye test says about a quiet season, the underlying trend across roles, managers and formations has stayed remarkably steady – which is exactly why Iraola's reluctance to wave him off makes just as much sense as Tottenham's interest in buying.