Liverpool must watch reports of £25m-a-year transfer window exit

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Liverpool should keep an eye on a developing situation in Barcelona ahead of the January transfer window. Frenkie de Jong could well be available.

Marca reported this week that Barcelona could move on Frenkie de Jong. This was a player they signed to be their long-term star in midfield. Instead, he’s too expensive to keep at a desperate time for the club.

De Jong supposedly earns around £25m per year – a massive amount for any club. But Barcelona, with poor finances and in need of a rebuild, are in a particularly poor position to pay that.

And perhaps that should alert Liverpool. De Jong could be the future of the Anfield midfield.

Liverpool should watch De Jong

De Jong would be a very expensive transfer for Liverpool. Even if Barcelona lower the fee, we can’t imagine he’d want a significant wage-cut. Perhaps that makes this a non-starter but we do believe the Reds should consider this.

We still haven’t seen Liverpool replace Gini Wijnaldum, after all, and his compatriot could be an ideal one. De Jong thrives as a safe midfielder, capable of maintaining possession in every situation and playing the right passes.

And at 24, this is a player still pushing into his prime. That should interest a Liverpool side whose two best midfielders – Thiago and Jordan Henderson – are now over 30. De Jong really could be the future in midfield.

As we say, we don’t know the exact costs here. But in De Jong, we think Liverpool could find the right player for them when such a talent isn’t usually up for grabs. This isn’t the first report claiming the Dutchman could leave Barcelona soon – if there is a planned exit, Liverpool should get in the queue while the chance is there.