The clamour among Liverpool supporters for more incomings before the transfer window closed on Tuesday night was understandable.

An unconvincing start to the season had only served to intensify concerns over whether they possess sufficient quality and depth at right-back and in midfield.

Neither department has been strengthened, and it requires a sizeable leap of faith to believe those areas of weakness can simply be addressed by new head coach Andoni Iraola working with what he’s got on the training field.

Jeremie Frimpong has struggled in the opening two matches in the ongoing absence of injured first-choice right-back Conor Bradley. The debate over the balance of the midfield will rumble on with no specialist No 6 brought in and teenager Trey Nyoni backed to step up following the sale of Curtis Jones to Inter.

However, at the top end of the pitch, Liverpool’s inactivity in the market once they had finalised Bradley Barcola’s protracted £123million ($166.5m) move from Paris Saint-Germain should be welcomed.

Rewind to Sunday and it looked increasingly likely that Cody Gakpo was going to be sold to Manchester City for around £80m.

The former PSV forward had informed Liverpool that he was keen on the move. There had also been strong interest from Tottenham Hotspur but City was his preferred destination.

Sanctioning that deal was always dependent on Liverpool being able to recruit a suitable replacement for the Netherlands international at an acceptable price.

They had to consider whether to increase their offer for Yankuba Minteh having previously had bids of £50m and £60m rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion. There had also been contact with Crystal Palace over a potential deal for Ismaila Sarr.

Ultimately, common sense prevailed. Selling Gakpo and bringing in either Minteh or Sarr would have been a big mistake. Yes, Minteh and Sarr both operate on the right and buying one of them arguably would have provided a better balance to Iraola’s attacking department given that his other wide players prefer the left flank.

But in terms of talent, either would have been a downgrade on Gakpo. Minteh, 22, who is out for around two months after having surgery on his right leg, scored three goals and provided four assists in 34 Premier League matches last season.

Sarr, who always seems to shine against Liverpool, fared better with nine goals and an assist in 28 league matches for Palace in 2025-26, but paying more than £60m for the Senegal international, who turns 29 in February, wouldn’t have been a smart investment.

Captain Virgil van Dijk had left nobody in any doubt about his stance on the matter when he spoke to reporters after last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. “I want Cody to stay not only because he’s a quality player but also because he’s a friend of mine,” Van Dijk said. “He’s very important for us. I think we should keep quality players.”

(Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

On Monday afternoon, having considered their options, Liverpool pulled the plug as they rejected City’s offer and Gakpo was informed that he would be staying put. He accepted the decision and trained with Iraola’s squad as normal on Tuesday.

When a player asks to join a rival club and the move doesn’t subsequently materialise it can often leave him in an uncomfortable position regarding his relationship with the supporters. But it would be crazy if Gakpo faced any kind of backlash.

For a start, you can understand why he wanted to leave given Liverpool had just spent so much money on Barcola, who plays in his favoured role on the left wing, and the club were clearly prepared to offload him. You can also understand why he wanted to join Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City rather than Tottenham given his ambition to win more silverware.

The fickle nature of football won’t have been lost on Gakpo. Last season he faced a torrent of abuse on social media as he struggled for form. Recently those same platforms have been awash with praise and fans demanding that he remained at Liverpool.

Some were far too quick to forget how influential he was in the title-winning campaign of 2024-25 under Arne Slot when he scored 18 goals in all competitions. He was one of many in that dressing room to lose their way last term, but he’s looked refreshed and energised since Iraola took over this summer.

(Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images for the Premier League)

In fact he’s arguably been Liverpool’s best attacking player in the opening two Premier League matches — scoring in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle United with a clinical finish from outside the box and providing a pinpoint assist for Alexander Isak to fire home against Forest.

Iraola starting him in both games despite all the noise about his future says a lot about how he’s conducted himself on and off the pitch throughout this summer. He didn’t agitate for a move, he didn’t down tools. As Liverpool battled in vain to find a late winner against Forest, Gakpo was as animated as anyone on the touchline after Rio Ngumoha came off the bench to replace him.

From a business perspective, it’s easy to see why banking £80m for Gakpo carried some appeal for Liverpool given that he cost them £44m from PSV in January 2023.

But football-wise, it would have been wrong on a few levels. Firstly, it would have strengthened Manchester City. No player has moved directly between the clubs since Raheem Sterling went to the Etihad in 2015. Given how they have gone toe to toe for so much of the past decade and the subsequent levels of animosity, the sale would not have sat right.

More significantly, it would have weakened Liverpool. Imagine having an injured Minteh rather than Gakpo, and then Isak picking up a knock in the coming weeks.

Gakpo staying means that Liverpool have proper cover for Isak through the middle until Hugo Ekitike returns from his Achilles injury around the midway point of the campaign.

Barcola is expected to predominantly operate off the left but the France international might need some time to get up to speed given that he hasn’t played since the World Cup.

Gakpo’s versatility makes him a real asset with Iraola starting him on the right against Forest and Victor Munoz on the other flank. In the latter stages, it was Ngumoha on the left with Munoz on the right.

With Friday’s trip to newly-promoted Ipswich Town — the first of five games in the space of 16 days — there will be plenty of game time to go round.

(Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Liverpool’s priority all summer was to buy pace out wide and they achieved it with the exciting signings of Munoz and Barcola. Jeremy Jacquet looks like a decent replacement for Ibrahima Konate and getting Ronald Araujo on loan provides extra cover given the defensive injuries.

The fear remains that they will pay the price in the months ahead for not doing more in the market given the issues at full-back and in midfield, but there’s certainly no shortage of firepower.

A few days ago it looked like Barcola was going to be followed through the door by another attacking acquisition. However, given that would have meant sending Gakpo to the Etihad, Liverpool were right to stick with what they had.