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Cody Gakpo is reportedly on the verge of leaving Liverpool to join Manchester City after deciding against a move to Tottenham Hotspur. The 27-year-old forward started and provided an assist laying it on a plate for Alexander Isak in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday. That milestone took him to 50 direct goal involvements in the Premier League for the Reds, consisting of 33 goals and 17 assists. However, that afternoon at Anfield may well prove to be his final appearance in a red shirt. Manchester City are pushing hard to secure his signature before the transfer window slams shut, with personal terms reportedly agreed. Enzo Maresca’s side have been actively searching for attacking reinforcements after allowing both Savio and Omar Marmoush to depart for Spurs this week. While Tottenham had previously reached an agreement with the Netherlands international back in July, Gakpo has now set his sights firmly on a switch to the Etihad Stadium instead. Liverpool stance and replacement targets emerge Liverpool are not actively looking to offload the versatile forward, who only signed a lucrative new five-year contract at Anfield last year. However, the club are prepared to cooperate with a sale under one strict condition: they must secure a high-calibre replacement first. A frantic end to the window is expected on Merseyside, with Andoni Iraola admitting after the Forest draw that further comings and goings are anticipated during his post match press conference “I think now we need to be patient,” Iraola told reporters. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. There are still some days [left] in the market and obviously there are going to be movements. We will need to analyse when this happens. “It’s uncomfortable in terms of uncertainty until the market closes, but now it’s just a matter of a couple of days, so we will wait.” To soften the blow of Gakpo’s potential departure, Liverpool have already identified several key targets. Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola has emerged as a major name on the radar, with a potential £120m deal bubbling under the surface. Meanwhile, the Reds have also lodged an opening bid worth an estimated €58m for Crystal Palace forward Ismaïla Sarr. Interest in Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh appears to have cooled for now, after the Seagulls flatly rejected a £60m bid following Liverpool’s initial £50m overture. As talks between Liverpool and Manchester City continue over a final transfer fee, the final hours of the window promise to be interesting across Merseyside.