Ex-Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has revealed that Liverpool were interested in signing Marko Arnautovic a few years ago.
Speaking on his podcast, the BT Sport pundit also claimed that he advised his then-teammate to sign for the Reds.
Crouch said: “Liverpool were interested in him at one stage and I said to him, if you go anywhere go to a top club like that.”
“It’s a shame really. He’s in China and he’s there for whatever reason.”
Crouch and Arnautovic were teammates at Stoke City from 2013-2017.
The Austrian then moved to West Ham, where he stayed for two seasons. Arnautovic is currently at Shanghai Port in the Chinese Super League.
He was valued at £31.5m at the peak of his powers, according to Transfermarkt.
While he shone at stages, Arnautovic never really cemented himself as a top Premier League player.
Could Arnautovic really have ended up at Liverpool?
Crouch did not specify exactly when Liverpool were interested in signing Arnautovic. It is also unknown exactly how serious the Reds’ interest was.
The chances are that this interest came in the summer of 2016.
Arnautovic was coming off the back of an excellent season at Stoke, where he scored 11 goals and assisted six more in the Premier League.
It was Jurgen Klopp’s first summer at the club and he was clearly on the lookout for wide forwards.
They brought in Sadio Mane from Southampton, and we all know how well that has worked out.
The chances are that Arnautovic was merely on the shortlist before the club decided on Mane.
Considering how hit-and-miss the now-32-year-old’s career has been since, it is clear that Liverpool made the right choice.
However, Jurgen Klopp may have been capable of getting consistency from Arnautovic, so it is interesting to think about how he could have fared at Anfield.
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