Spurs ‘try to pry’ Slot favourite away from Liverpool as he declares ‘wish to leave’ after Iraola arrival

Cody Gakpo has expressed his ‘wish to leave’ Liverpool after Arne Slot’s exit from Anfield, according to reports, with Premier League rivals Tottenham planning a bid to lure the Dutchman away from Merseyside this summer.

The Reds confirmed the appointment of Andoni Iraola as their new head coach on Thursday after sacking Slot late last month.

Liverpool ended the season trophyless and in fifth place in the Premier League, as Slot couldn’t get anywhere near the standards of the season before.

Several players who performed brilliantly the season before let Slot down in a drab campaign, and the rebuild is already well underway at Anfield.

Andy Robertson has joined Tottenham on a free transfer, while Ibrahima Konate looks set to join Real Madrid, and Mohamed Salah will leave for another club too this summer.

Gakpo has been in particularly disappointing form this season with Danny Murphy saying in March that the Liverpool winger has “fallen off the cliff” compared to the previous campaign.

Murphy told talkSPORT at the beginning of March when identifying reasons for Liverpool’s poor performances: “Gakpo has fallen off the cliff compared to his form last season, and obviously Diaz was a blow, losing him, Isak has not been fit, but creativity and firepower ain’t there.”

READ MORE: Liverpool dealt crushing double Yan Diomande blow as Iraola-backed deadline hits brick wall – Exclusive

Gakpo ready to leave Liverpool following Slot sack – report

Our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, revealed towards the end of March that Gakpo has genuine chances to leave Liverpool in the summer with Tottenham among numerous clubs circling.

It was TEAMtalk‘s understanding at the time that Gakpo was being actively offered to clubs across the Premier League and Europe by intermediaries.

And now Dutch outlet Soccer News have heard from their sources in England ‘that the attacker himself also wishes to leave’ after Slot was sacked by Liverpool.

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.’

It is also noted that Tottenham could be building a huge Dutch presence in north London with Spurs this week bidding for Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke, while Xavi Simons and Micky van der Ven are already on their books.

READ NEXT: Slot offended EIGHT Liverpool players as Dutchman ‘crossed the line’ in stunning put down – report