Cody Gakpo Transfer Collapsed — But Why It Could Be a Blessing for Manchester City
Manchester City may have just dodged a bullet.
The proposed move for Cody Gakpo from Liverpool has collapsed after Liverpool rejected City’s £85m offer, with the deal now off. Liverpool have decided to keep the Dutch forward after failing to find a replacement before the transfer window closes.
At first, that might sound like bad news for City.
They wanted another attacking option and Gakpo was available. He knows the Premier League, he has Champions League experience and he has already shown that he can score goals.
Personally…
£85m for Gakpo might have been a deal City are better off walking away from.
And there is one big reason why.
He is a Liverpool player.
Would City fans ever really love him?
This is where things get interesting.
Imagine Gakpo walking out at the Etihad wearing a Manchester City shirt after spending the last few years at Liverpool.
Would the City fans ever really take to him?
Of course, players move between rivals all the time. Footballers don’t owe supporters loyalty forever. But there is something different about signing a player directly from Liverpool for a huge fee.
Gakpo would have arrived with a lot to prove.
He wouldn’t just have been another new signing.
He would have been the former Liverpool player who cost £85m.
That comes with pressure from day one.
One bad game and people would be asking why City spent so much on him.
One quiet month and the Liverpool connection would be mentioned again.
That isn’t necessarily fair, but that’s football.
Gakpo hasn’t exactly been flying
There is also the form.
Gakpo is a good player. Nobody can seriously argue otherwise.
But his recent Liverpool spell hasn’t been his best.
The 2025/26 season was a difficult one for him, with his performances coming under criticism and his attacking numbers dropping from the levels he had shown previously.
That doesn’t suddenly make him a bad footballer.
It just makes £85m a lot of money.
Especially when City already have attacking options and are looking at other ways of improving the squad.
Gakpo has scored 51 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool, which is a respectable record, but £85m is still a huge price to pay for a player who hasn’t exactly been tearing the league apart recently.
And then there is the price
This is probably the biggest part of the argument.
Gakpo joined Liverpool from PSV for around £44m in 2023.
Three years later, City were prepared to pay almost double that.
For a 27-year-old coming off a difficult season.
That is a lot of money.
City have never been afraid to spend when they believe a player is right for them, but this felt more like a deal that had appeared very quickly because they needed another forward.
That can be dangerous.
You don’t want to spend £85m just because there is a player available.
You want to spend £85m because you are absolutely convinced he is the right player.
And I’m not sure Gakpo was that player.
City can move on
The collapse also gives City the chance to look elsewhere.
Reports have already suggested they are considering other attacking options, including Iliman Ndiaye.
Maybe they find someone younger.
Maybe they find someone cheaper.
Maybe they simply decide they don’t need to make another huge signing at all.
Sometimes the best transfer is the one you don’t make.
And this could be one of those occasions.
Gakpo will remain at Liverpool for now, and perhaps a new season under a new manager will bring the best out of him again.
If he goes on to score 25 goals and Liverpool win another major trophy, City fans may look back and wish they had pushed harder.
But right now?
Manchester City have probably dodged a bullet.
An £85m fee, the pressure of moving directly from Liverpool, and a player who hasn’t been at his best recently is a lot of risk for one transfer.
City can spend that money elsewhere.
And honestly, they might be better off for it.