Cody Gakpo's Liverpool Future in Doubt After Transfer Request

Cody Gakpo’s Liverpool chapter looks to be closing, and it’s ending with a jolt rather than a gentle fade.

According to Dutch outlet Soccernews, the Netherlands international has submitted a transfer request in the wake of Arne Slot’s sacking, convinced he no longer has a future at Anfield without the coach who backed him when few others did.

From title driver to lightning rod

Gakpo arrived at Liverpool in January 2022 for an initial £37m, a statement signing from PSV and a player the club expected to grow into a central attacking pillar. Across 180 appearances he has delivered 50 goals and 23 assists, a solid return that looked even more valuable during Slot’s first season in charge.

Last term he played a meaningful part in Liverpool’s title triumph, contributing 15 goals and assists in the Premier League and justifying Slot’s faith in him. The Dutch coach saw him as a key cog, a versatile forward who could link play, press from the front and still chip in with end product.

This season, that faith became a fault line.

Liverpool’s title defence collapsed, the champions stumbling to a fifth-placed finish. Performances dipped, the mood soured, and Gakpo found himself cast in an uncomfortable role: scapegoat. A section of the fanbase could not fathom why Slot kept turning to him while teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha sat in the wings, waiting for a bigger stage.

The more results went against Liverpool, the louder the questions became. Slot stood firm. Gakpo kept starting. The tension grew.

Slot has now paid with his job. Gakpo, it seems, is ready to pay with his Liverpool career.

Iraola era begins, Gakpo looks for the exit

Slot’s dismissal has opened the door for Andoni Iraola, whose high-energy, front-foot football will bring its own demands and its own winners and losers in the dressing room. For Gakpo, the writing appears to be on the wall.

Soccernews report that the forward has asked to leave “because he doesn’t not see a future at The Reds without Slot.” The double negative may be clumsy; the message is not. The bond between player and coach has been severed, and with it Gakpo’s sense of place at the club.

Liverpool, according to TEAMtalk, are not inclined to stand in his way. The club are described as “open to his sale this summer,” despite the fact that Slot, during his tenure, not only persisted with Gakpo but also oversaw a lucrative new contract: £250,000 a week, running through to June 2030.

That deal once looked like a sign of long-term faith. Now it feels like leverage in a transfer negotiation.

Atlético circle as Griezmann successor

There is no shortage of intrigue around Gakpo’s next move, and one heavyweight has already been linked.

Soccernews claim Atlético Madrid “have ears for a collaboration” with the Liverpool forward as they search for a replacement for Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman is heading to MLS side Orlando City after his contract with the La Liga club expired, leaving a sizeable creative and emotional gap in Diego Simeone’s squad.

Gakpo, valued at around €60m (£52m) by Transfermarkt, would not come cheap. “A lot of payment will have to be made,” the report notes, though it also stresses that a deal is “not impossible.” For a club that has repeatedly rebuilt its attack under Simeone, the Dutchman’s blend of physicality, work rate and finishing would be an intriguing fit.

The question now is who blinks first: Liverpool in their valuation, or Atlético in their ambition.

Liverpool’s wide rebuild begins

Gakpo’s situation unfolds against a broader reset in Liverpool’s attack.

Mohamed Salah, the club’s modern icon, is also leaving. Losing one senior wide forward is destabilising; being prepared to sanction the exit of another in the same window is something else entirely. Yet sources cited by TEAMtalk insist Liverpool are ready to do exactly that, even with the scale of the rebuild staring them in the face.

In March, before Salah’s departure became official, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano had already flagged the coming storm on the flanks.

“I think it will be a busy summer for Liverpool with wingers. It’s very clear they need to reinforce their wingers,” he said. “The situation with Salah and Gakpo. In general, I think Liverpool need to add something fresh in that position.”

That “fresh” injection now feels less like a tweak and more like a full transplant. With Iraola arriving, Salah gone, and Gakpo pushing to follow, Liverpool’s front line could look radically different by the time the new season kicks off.

For Gakpo, the decision seems made. For Liverpool, the next one is looming: cash in on a 25-year-old forward still in his prime, or try to convince him there is a role for him in a project no longer led by the man who believed in him most?