Liverpool plot move for Premier League star Jurgen Klopp wanted five years ago
It’s been a frustrating time for Liverpool in the transfer window after missing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia despite having bids for both players accepted
Jurgen Klopp could be about to go back to the future in order to solve Liverpool’s current midfield crisis.
The Anfield boss has endured a week of pure frustration in the summer transfer market. The club were seemingly about to smash their own transfer record after having a £111 million bid accepted for Brighton star Moises Caicedo, only for the Ecuadorian to reject the move.
The player duly joined Chelsea after they opted to match Liverpool’s bid, leaving Klopp to turn his attention to Southampton’s Romeo Lavia. But in a case of deja vu, after a £60 million offer – the fourth the Reds had made – was finally accepted the player again declined to head to Merseyside.
Chelsea again swooped, with the 19-year-old set to follow Caicedo to Stamford Bridge. And it’s left Klopp and FSG with little option but to turn their attention to other targets.
And one in particular is familiar to the club. FootMercato have reported that Wolves player Mario Lemina is on Liverpool’s radar, after impressing at Molineux following his January move from Nice.
The Gabon star made 17 Premier League starts for the Midlands club after joining midway through the 2022/23 season, and was crucial to their eventual Premier League survival. He also shone in the 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on Monday, with the French media outlet reporting that three of the league’s ‘big five’, including Liverpool are interested.
The report goes on to add that there is also interest from Saudi Arabia, with Wolves having already sold his former midfield colleague Ruben Neves to Al-Hilal this summer. Wanderers have shown themselves to be willing business partners this summer, selling a number of players in order to fall in line with profitability and sustainability rules.
Klopp previously came close to moving for the Gabon international back in 2018, when he was flourishing at Southampton after arriving from Juventus for a club record £15.4 million. That speculation came three years after his predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, had also been linked with a swoop when he was still at Marseille.
Despite the rumours, the Reds never did submit a concrete bid for Lemima. But amid a clear dearth in his current midfield set-up, the 25-cap international could be seen as a solution following the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Regardless, he won’t be the only incoming. Liverpool are already closing in on a £15.4 million deal for Stuttgart captain Wataru Endo, while enquiries have been made about Fiorentina playmaker Sofyan Amrabat.
