Cody Gakpo kicks up internal dispute at Bayern Munich amid Liverpool pursuit

Bayern Munich are understood to be strong admirers of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz this summer.

However, there is, rather intriguingly, not quite the same level of internal agreement over the Colombian’s Anfield teammate.

Cody Gakpo, who we at CF Bayern Insider understand is a personal favourite of director of sport Max Eberl, is a name attracting disagreement at Säbener Straße.

The Dutch international has enjoyed a sound 2024/25 campaign on Merseyside, registering 18 goals and seven assists in 49 games (across all competitions).

Bayern bosses disagree with Max Eberl over Cody Gakpo

There’s a clear hierarchy of options for Bayern’s decision-makers on the left wing.

Nico Williams, of Athletic Bilbao, is, as things currently stand, the frontrunner. However, there still remains the looming question of whether or not Barcelona can actually afford to sign and register the footballer.

In which case, Liverpool’s Luis Diaz would come into sharper focus. The Colombian is also believed to be ahead of Cody Gakpo in the pecking order.

“The Dutchman is still one of Max Eberl’s candidates. Not all of the other bosses are convinced,” Christian Falk exclusively informed CF Bayern Insider.

“The question is still being discussed internally: Is Gakpo really better than Serge Gnabry or Kingsley Coman? Wouldn’t he even be a step down from Leroy Sané?

“Without the backing of the supervisory board, the transfer will be difficult to push through.”

Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli is also thought to be of some interest as part of the wider shortlist.

Should Bayern sign Luis Diaz or Cody Gakpo?

To be clear: both Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo are on Bayern’s list.

However, not all were made equal, and it’s clear Max Eberl is going to have some convincing to do to get members of the board on side with regard to a potential pursuit of the Dutchman.

That seems a little surprising given, from a pure output perspective, Gakpo has actually enjoyed a superior season to his Liverpool teammate. Albeit having played fewer minutes in the 2024/25 campaign.

The underlying data behind the two wingers is a little less conclusive on the matter of superiority.

Using DataMB to crunch the numbers, we can determine that Diaz is the more creatively impactful of the pair. Yet, that’s not to suggest Gakpo isn’t heavily involved in attacking play.

His attacking actions (‘sum of shots, crosses and dribbles’) prove that he’s heavily involved in our activities in the final third when on the pitch. His end product also isn’t to be found wanting.

That said, we can understand the attraction behind signing his Colombian teammate.

Diaz is ultimately the more polished, finished product, and so FC Bayern would be attracting a player more likely to hit the ground running in the Bundesliga.

Critically, it seems the left-sided attacker is also far more open to a move abroad. There are just too many factors going against Max Eberl here.

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The Bayern Insider: Liverpool leave Max Eberl guessing over Luis Diaz