Dominic King names one player Liverpool won’t sell under any circumstances this summer
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Dominic King has named one Liverpool player who ‘would not be allowed to go anywhere’ in the summer transfer window.Arne Slot’s attacking options have been depleted by injuries to Hugo Ekitike, Mo Salah and Alexander Isak over the past month, with the former likely to miss the remainder of 2026 and the Egyptian departing at the end of this season.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYIt leaves the Reds running the risk of being short of squad depth in the final third unless they recruit in the summer, so the hierarchy would need to think very carefull about selling any of our remaining attackers.Gakpo ‘won’t be allowed’ to leave Liverpool this summerIn an article for The Telegraph analysing Liverpool’s potential summer business, King named the forward line as one area in need of strengthening this summer, especially in light of Ekitike’s long-term injury.He wrote: ‘There are questions to answer and it is probably asking too much for Alexander Isak to be available for 60 games straight.
Cody Gakpo would not be allowed to go anywhere, given he can play across the forward line, but who else can provide goals?’Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustLiverpool aren’t in a position to offload Gakpo at presentThe Netherlands international scored just his ninth goal of the campaign in the defeat to Manchester United on Sunday, only half of the tally he managed last season despite actually playing considerably more minutes this term.His performances have yielded plenty of criticism in recent months, with Stephen Warnock labelling him ‘predictable‘, and there were even some whispers of a potential swap deal with RB Leipzig involving Yan Diomande, although those have been reliably shut down.We saw at the weekend just how threadbare Liverpool’s attacking options are at present, and while Ekitike will eventually recover, the ever-reliable supply of goals from Salah will no longer be available.As King mentioned, Federico Chiesa is ‘certain to be sold’ given his peripheral status even with so many forward ruled out.
Therefore, unless that part of the squad is bolstered first, the Reds are highly unlikely to countenance selling Gakpo.We’ve seen in previous campaigns how prolific the Dutchman can be when he’s at his best, and selling him in the summer would seem highly risky withour recruiting first, so let’s hope he can provide a greater contribution in 2026/27 and dispel the criticism which has followed him around this term.