Cody Gakpo is coming, and half the fanbase is not sure it wants him
City top the table after two wins, six points, seven goals scored. On the pitch everything is fine. Off it, the defining story of the week is an £85m deal for Cody Gakpo that has split the support down the middle (15). Romano broke it, and the reaction was instant: "Crazy", "Underwhelming Signing", "Too Much" (15). A fanbase that has watched its club turn Liverpool's left winger into the summer's biggest saga cannot decide whether it is buying a Haaland deputy or overspending on a rival's rotation option.
The money is the first thing that grates. City's spend could soar past €500m by the end of this (2). That is not a marginal addition, it is a total squad restructure dressed up as one signing. And the target is a forward Liverpool used more as a wide cover than a nailed-on starter.
The deal only makes sense through a Liverpool lens
Here is the strange part. Voetbal International frames Gakpo as "the first adjutant" of Erling Haaland, the man who does the running and releasing so Haaland can do the finishing (19). That is a coherent role. City have lacked that second, selfless attacker since Álvarez left.
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But look at the other side of the deal. Van Dijk went public on Saturday, after Liverpool's 2–2 draw with Nottingham Forest, and said what every Liverpool fan was thinking: "He's a quality player. I think we should keep quality players" (4) (11). Carragher said the opposite, that now is the time to sell and reinvest (7). Liverpool will only sanction the move if Bradley Barcola and another winger are already in (12). So Gakpo leaves only on Liverpool's terms, not because City forced it through.
The peculiar part, as one Merseyside writer put it, is that there is "only one way it makes sense" (10). That is the whole story in a sentence.
Grealish is the quieter exit nobody is lamenting
While Gakpo dominates, Jack Grealish is heading out the back door. Everton are in advanced talks to take him on loan and cover up to 90% of his wages (3) (21). Sunderland have entered the race too, which tells you the level Grealish now attracts (18). The £100m signing of 2021 is now being fought over by Everton and Sunderland before Tuesday's deadline. That is the cost of the Gakpo era arriving.
What to watch
Coventry on Saturday is the last Premier League fixture before the window shuts and before Porto away in the Champions League (fixtures). Gakpo, if it lands, slots in as Haaland's support. Grealish leaves. Ndiaye remains the floating alternative if Liverpool stall (5). The real question for City fans is not whether the team can keep winning, it is whether £85m on a Liverpool squad player looks smart by the time the derby at Old Trafford arrives on 13 September.
