Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo has confirmed that Bayern Munich were interested in signing him.

The Dutchman did not elaborate on whether he would have been keen on joining the Bundesliga champions, but he did say that Bayern’s decision to pursue his teammate meant that any talk of a move soon became academic:

“From what I understand, they (Bayern) have come, but in the end, they have signed Luis Diaz.”

Diaz left the Reds for £65m at the end of July. The Colombian international had less than two years left on his contract, so his departure was always likelier than Gakpo’s.

Less depth on the left could benefit Gakpo

Diaz’s departure for Bayern will lead to Gakpo starting pretty much every game for Liverpool. While Rio Ngumoha is a very promising talent, head coach Arne Slot is seemingly reluctant to play him on a regular basis.

With Federico Chiesa having been left out of the Champions League squad as well, it looks like Gakpo’s workload could be pretty heavy over the coming months.

Slot’s arrival at Liverpool has transformed the winger

Before the start of last season, many were questioning whether the Netherlands international had a long-term future at Anfield. He had failed to really nail down a place in the side under previous manager Jurgen Klopp, and many fans would have favoured his sale above Diaz’s at the time.

However, Slot knew what he had to do with Gakpo. He played him consistently in his favoured position on the left, and he has been rewarded. The 26-year-old scored 18 goals and provided 7 assists in 49 appearances during the 2024/25 campaign.

We shall have to wait and see whether the Dutchman can replicate or even improve on those numbers now that he is a regular starter.

Read more about the Liverpool First Team Squad for 2025/26 here