Reports: Liverpool Forward Cody Gakpo Has Decided to Join Manchester City, City Make £85m Bid

On August 30 Beijing time, according to a report by DO of The Athletic, Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has decided to join Manchester City. All parties are currently negotiating in an effort to reach a final agreement.

The 27-year-old player has decided to reject a move to Tottenham and will not remain at Anfield, instead hoping to join the City side.

Gakpo joined Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven in the 2023 winter transfer window for a fee of €42 million. The 2024-25 season was his best campaign since joining the Reds, as he recorded 18 goals and 6 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions. However, in the 2025-26 season, he made 52 appearances for Liverpool and managed 9 goals and 6 assists.

Since the start of this season, Gakpo has been Liverpool's best-performing attacking player. He has already recorded 1 goal and 1 assist in 2 Premier League matches. In the 2-2 draw against Newcastle, his long-range strike helped Liverpool draw level temporarily. In the 2-2 draw against Forest, his excellent dummy and turn allowed him to assist Isak and helped Liverpool equalize temporarily. More notably, both Gakpo's goal and assist came from the right wing. Few expected that Liverpool's long-sought right-wing position could potentially be filled internally, leading many Reds fans to sincerely call for the Dutch star to stay.

Tottenham pursued Gakpo for almost the entire summer, while Manchester City have only recently entered the race, with the latter seemingly offering a more attractive proposition. Liverpool's stance had previously been to avoid selling unless the Reds could sign multiple wide players (Barcola plus a right winger) and receive a very high transfer fee for Gakpo.

There are currently reports that Manchester City have submitted an £85 million offer (nearly €100 million) for Gakpo, while Liverpool would need to secure a right winger for a lower price. The player currently considered closest to moving to Anfield is Ismaïla Sarr, but he is not highly pursued due to concerns over age. There are also reports that Liverpool will resume their pursuit of Brighton's Minteh, after previous negotiations stalled when the Reds refused to meet the Seagulls' high asking price.