Fabrizio Romano has ruled Liverpool out of the race for Nicolo Barella and Konrad Laimer’s signatures this summer.
This comes as the Reds search desperately for a new midfield addition before the window deadline tomorrow after Jurgen Klopp confirmed a change of heart in the club’s transfer plans.
“The club do not want to sign just any player for the sake of it, so they are still putting in a lot of work trying to identify the right kind of player,” the Italian told Caught Offside in a Daily Briefing on Substack.
“However, even though they’re continuing to do their research, at the moment, there are no easy options.
“Konrad Laimer was appreciated but RB Leipzig will not let him leave now, so Liverpool will have to explore other names from now until tomorrow night’s deadline.
“I know a lot of you want to know if Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella is an option, but unfortunately, he is not. There is no chance for the Italian to move to Anfield this summer.”
With Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Curtis Jones has made a return to team training) still sidelined with injury and the club having only accrued five points from a possible 12, the Merseysiders’ change of tack is more than understandable.
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It was an incredibly ill-timed change of heart it has to be said, with prior targets like Yves Bissouma either finding new clubs or being held onto by their current outfits to force us into a difficult position.
We know that the club won’t be coerced into paying over the odds for a player – certainly not if they don’t happen to top our recruitment team’s shortlist.
Having signed a long-term contract extension in November last year, Barella was always going to be a pipedream, though hopefully another option will avail itself to help alleviate the growing concerns around our midfield department early in the campaign.