Teun Koopmeiners is officially set to join Juventus in a permanent move from Serie A rivals Atalanta this summer.
The news comes courtesy of Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on X (formerly Twitter), with the Dutchman moving for $58m [£43.9m].
Liverpool had previously been heavily linked with the 26-year-old, though the Reds opted to go down a different route with their ill-fated interest in La Real’s Martin Zubimendi.
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Koopmeiners did court serious controversy with his behaviour this summer, inciting the ire of Gian Piero Gasperini after refusing to train with Atalanta ahead of a proposed switch to The Old Lady.
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Able to play deep ahead of the backline and in a more advanced attacking midfield role, the footballer would have brought some serious positional versatility to Anfield.
The No.7’s particular strength was his progressive carrying of the ball (91st percentile according to FBref) and ability to influence play in the final third.
As far as we’re concerned, of course, there was never as much of a need for more creatively-inclined options at Liverpool. We’re hardly short in the department between the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Of far greater importance was finding a long-term fit for the No.6 role – ideally, a player who was very reliable in possession in addition to their ability to play a role in build-up.
The man such a duty has fallen upon following our failure to land Zubimendi, Ryan Gravenberch, appears to be doing a fine job in both departments thus far.
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