Tottenham ‘plan’ stunning Liverpool transfer for fifth signing after exit request | OneFootball

Tottenham are preparing a summer offer to land Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo after the Netherlands international requested a transfer, according to reports.

The Reds announced the appointment of Andoni Iraola on Thursday as they look to go in a new direction after a disappointing campaign under Arne Slot.

Slot was sacked by Liverpool at the end of May in a shock move amid widespread reports expecting the Dutchman to keep his job at Anfield.

But a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League and no trophies, as well as pressure from frustrated fans, was enough to see the Liverpool hierarchy take action.

A number of players dropped their performances from the previous season, in which Liverpool won the Premier League title under Slot.

Gakpo was one of those players and now there are reports that the Netherlands international wants to follow compatriot Slot out of Liverpool in the summer.

And Dutch website Soccer News has revealed that Gakpo ‘wishes to leave’ after Slot’s departure and the arrival of Iraola, although it remains unclear whether he is part of the Spaniard’s plans.

Tottenham are determined to attempt to sign Gakpo over the summer transfer window and ‘hope to convince’ the Dutchman to make the move to north London.

The report adds: ‘The winger certainly has no reason to complain about a lack of interest. Several English sources report to SoccerNews that Tottenham Hotspur has a serious interest in Gakpo. They intend to try to pry the Dutchman away from Liverpool in the coming period. With the new project under manager Roberto De Zerbi, they hope to convince him to make the move to London.

‘Behind the scenes, Tottenham is working on a plan to convince the attacker and Liverpool in the coming period. In addition to the Spurs, several other clubs from England, Spain, and Germany are reportedly interested in the player from Eindhoven.’

Tottenham confirmed the arrival of Andy Robertson today, while Marco Senesi is also set to join from Bournemouth in their first two deals of the summer.

David Ornstein revealed on Thursday that Spurs had also made a bid for Brighton’s Van Hecke, while Fabrizio Romano has previously described a move for Manchester City winger Savinho as ‘deal on’.

Heskey: Liverpool fans should be ‘careful what they wish for’

Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey has told Reds supporters to be “careful what they wish for” after Slot was sacked at Anfield.

Heskey told Betfred: “That’s modern football. The owners, the Chief Exec and the rest of the hierarchy don’t sack managers, the fans do. If the fans lose faith in you, then unfortunately for all managers, this decision has to be taken. I’m sure they wouldn’t have wanted to do it but it’s the fans that decided and that’s unfair in my opinion.

“If [Andoni] Iraola comes in now and loses a few games, are they going to sack him? And then sack the next manager. I support the club and the decisions they make, but I’m hoping the fans will have a lot more patience with the next manager.

“We don’t want to go down the route that Manchester United have been down. Mikel Arteta finished 8th, 8th and then 5th and his club didn’t sack him and look where they are now? Liverpool fans need to be careful what they wish for.”