Cody Gakpo Requests Transfer from Liverpool Amidst Managerial Changes

Cody Gakpo has asked to leave Liverpool, with the Dutch forward reportedly submitting a transfer request in the wake of Arne Slot’s sacking.

The 25-year-old arrived at Anfield in January 2022 for an initial £37m and has since delivered 50 goals and 23 assists in 180 appearances. Last season he was central to Liverpool’s title triumph under Slot, contributing 15 goals and assists in the Premier League and often carrying the attacking burden in key spells of the campaign.

This year, the picture changed. Liverpool’s title defence fell apart, ending in a fifth-placed finish, and Slot paid with his job. The club turned to Andoni Iraola, and with that, the foundations that had underpinned Gakpo’s Liverpool career began to crack.

Gakpo’s role became a lightning rod for frustration. While Slot consistently backed his compatriot, large sections of the fanbase questioned the decision to keep starting him ahead of teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha. Every miscontrolled touch, every missed chance, seemed to land squarely on Gakpo’s shoulders as the season unravelled.

According to Dutch outlet Soccernews, the forward has now acted. The report claims Gakpo has submitted a transfer request because he no longer sees a future at Liverpool without Slot in charge.

The timing is stark. Just last year, Liverpool rewarded him with a new deal worth £250,000 a week, running to June 2030, a clear show of faith from Slot and the hierarchy that he would be a pillar of the next era. Now that era has lasted a single season.

Across Europe, the situation has not gone unnoticed. Atletico Madrid are reported to be keen, viewing Gakpo as a potential replacement for Antoine Griezmann, who is set to join MLS side Orlando City after his contract with the Spanish club expired. A move will not come cheap: Gakpo is currently valued at around €60m (£52m), and the Dutch report notes that “a lot of payment will have to be made” to get him out of Anfield. Even so, the suggestion is that a deal is far from out of reach.

Crucially for any suitors, Liverpool are not expected to stand in his way. TEAMtalk report that the club are open to selling Gakpo this summer and will not block his request to leave. That stance holds even as another giant of the forward line, Mohamed Salah, prepares to depart, leaving a huge hole on the right and a major rebuild looming in attack.

Slot’s loyalty to Gakpo had been one of the constants in a turbulent campaign. With Slot gone, that protection has vanished, and Liverpool’s stance has hardened into something more pragmatic: if the right offer lands on the table, Gakpo can go.

Back in March, before Salah’s exit was confirmed, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano predicted exactly this kind of upheaval on the flanks, saying Liverpool “need to reinforce their wingers” and “add something fresh in that position” with both Salah and Gakpo’s situations in play.

Now the theory is turning into reality. One winger is already on his way. Another is pushing for the door. Iraola walks into a club that once boasted one of Europe’s most feared forward lines and now faces the task of rebuilding it almost from scratch.

If Liverpool cash in on Gakpo, the question is no longer whether they need new wide players. It’s how quickly they can find them – and whether the next generation can carry the weight that broke the last.