Liverpool's U-Turn on Cody Gakpo Shows Van Dijk's Pull Over a Manchester City Deal

Cody Gakpo has confirmed that Liverpool were prepared to sell him to Manchester City for £80m in August before changing their minds, ending a transfer saga that played out while the forward and his partner were grieving the loss of their second son during pregnancy. Asked directly whether Liverpool had been willing to let him go before reversing the decision, Gakpo replied simply: "Spot on" Gakpo told reporters in Amsterdam.

The admission arrived days after Gakpo scored a stoppage-time equaliser for the Netherlands against Germany, a side managed by his former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp. It capped a run of form that has seen him score in Liverpool's opening-weekend draw with Newcastle, net in the Carabao Cup win over Spurs, and register five assists, all delivered in the shadow of a personal loss he only revealed with real candour this week.

A £80m U-turn: what really happened with City's bid

City's interest in Gakpo reached £80m in August before talks stalled, according to the Guardian's report on the collapsed move. Gakpo's own account fills in the gap that reporting alone could not: Liverpool did not simply fail to agree a fee, they actively reconsidered a deal that appeared close to completion.

Talks stalled after a rare Anfield volte-face

"It was a difficult summer for me, and my family, and everything surrounding football and life," Gakpo said when asked whether he thought he was leaving Liverpool in comments reported by the Guardian. "I just let it come, and it ended how it ended."

Clubs walking away from a deal is common. A club that has already agreed to sell then reversing that decision, on a player good enough to interest a direct title rival, is not. That distinction is what makes Gakpo's confirmation notable rather than routine transfer noise.

A summer overshadowed by managerial upheaval

The saga also unfolded against a backdrop of change at Anfield. Gakpo admitted he "could do much better than I did last year" during a disappointing campaign that ended with Arne Slot's departure from Liverpool as detailed in the Guardian's interview. A managerial exit of that scale typically injects uncertainty into a squad's transfer plans, and it is reasonable to read Liverpool's wavering over Gakpo as part of a wider rethink about who the new regime could not afford to lose.

Tragedy behind the transfer saga

The football story cannot be separated from what Gakpo and his partner, Noa van der Bij, were living through at the same time. Earlier in the summer the couple announced that their second son had died during pregnancy, a loss that Gakpo has now placed directly alongside the uncertainty over his Liverpool future according to the Guardian.

'I just let everything be'

"It's a very long story. The summer was very tough regarding everything. So I just let everything be and see how it came and it worked out in this way."

That quote, given after Thursday's Netherlands fixture, is the clearest indication yet of how Gakpo has processed a period that combined career upheaval with grief. He was candid that he could not control either outcome. "I cannot choose," he said of the transfer situation. "So then I have to just try to do what I'm good at, and that's playing football" as reported by the Guardian.

Van Dijk's endorsement and Gakpo's response on the pitch

Gakpo's continued excellence has not gone unnoticed inside the Netherlands camp. Virgil van Dijk, his Liverpool teammate and national team captain, offered an unprompted defence of Gakpo's value that read as a pointed rebuke to anyone who had written him off.

'You can't let him go'

"If people didn't appreciate Cody before, personally I But I think it was a no-brainer for us as a team and a club to keep him. There were talks but, in my eyes, you can't let him go and that's why I said it. He is a friend as well. Ours, please, let's keep it that way."

Van Dijk's comments, delivered after Gakpo's goal against Germany, carry weight beyond sentiment. As captain, his public backing of a teammate's retention is the kind of dressing-room signal that can shape a club's thinking, whether or not it was the deciding factor in Liverpool's reversal.

Five assists, two goals and one derby-defining strike

Gakpo's numbers since the City move collapsed make Van Dijk's case for him without needing further argument:

• Goal in Liverpool's opening-weekend draw against Newcastle
• Goal in the Carabao Cup win over Spurs
• Five assists in all competitions this season
• Stoppage-time equaliser for the Netherlands against Klopp's Germany on Thursday

"It's not about my character," Gakpo said of his refusal to let the summer's events affect his football. "I'm now at the point that I per the Guardian.

What this means for Liverpool, City and Gakpo's future

For Liverpool, the episode suggests that senior voices, Van Dijk chief among them, retain genuine influence over transfer calls even amid a managerial transition. Blocking an £80m sale to a direct rival is not a decision made lightly, and Gakpo's form since has offered near-instant vindication.

A note on sourcing

It is worth being precise here about what is independently confirmed. The Guardian's interview with Gakpo, conducted in Amsterdam, is the source for both the £80m City figure and Van Dijk's quotes. A separate piece circulating this week from FourFourTwo concerns Liverpool's reported interest in Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente and is unrelated to the Gakpo story; it should not be treated as corroboration of these details. Readers wanting further independent verification of the £80m figure or the exact circumstances of Liverpool's reversal should look to additional outlets such as BBC Sport, Sky Sports or Dutch broadcaster NOS as that reporting emerges.

Could City return for Gakpo?

City's interest was serious enough to reach £80m once, and nothing in Gakpo's current trajectory suggests his value has fallen. If Liverpool's new management continues to build around him, any renewed City approach in a future window would likely require an even larger fee, and a much firmer answer from Anfield's dressing room than the one given in August.

What happens next

Liverpool's priority now is straightforward: keep Gakpo performing at this level and avoid a repeat of last season's inconsistency that contributed to Slot's exit. His continued involvement for the Netherlands, including further Nations League fixtures, will keep his form and his story in the spotlight.

For City, the calculus is less clear. An £80m target who improves after a blocked move is an uncomfortable outcome for any recruitment department, and Pep Guardiola's side will have to decide whether to revisit their interest or move on entirely.

For Gakpo himself, the football appears to be the easier part of the equation now. As he put it after Thursday's late equaliser, "If I have no control over the situation, I will not worry. So I just do my job with that" as told to the Guardian.