Marco Asensio would be willing to take a pay cut to join Liverpool from Real Madrid this summer.
That’s according to TUTTOmercatoWEb, who claim that the forward would happily lower his demands for a ‘convincing project.’
With that in mind, Asensio has reportedly had ‘very positive’ talks with AC Milan. However, it’s claimed that Madrid would prefer to sell to a Premier League club – namely Liverpool, Arsenal or Newcastle United.
Due to Asensio’s inability to accept a new deal, Real are also reportedly willing to accept an offer between £21.3m and £25.6m.
Affordable, but unlikely for Liverpool
Asensio could potentially be a good addition for Liverpool. With figures being talked about, he wouldn’t break the bank.
According to Salary Sport, the Spain international earns around £117k-a-week. Should he be willing to drop this further, he would be affordable as a squad player for Liverpool.
It isn’t Liverpool’s style to take a punt on players just because they’re there and available, though.
If The Reds really do want Asensio, then there appears to be absolutely no reason that they wouldn’t get him. He’s on the market and apparently happy to join on decent terms,
Liverpool could do with a back-up to Mohamed Salah and the 26-year-old would tick a few boxes.
But as we all know, The Reds are meticulous in the way they build their squad. There are no knee-jerk reactions, and should they go for Asensio, it would feel a little bit like just that.
The expectation should be that Liverpool will stay out of this one. Their recruitment is very much analytics based, and stats such as Asensio’s data on pressing would not highlight him as a natural fit.
It can’t be ruled out, but it would be a little bit of a surprise if Asensio ended up at Anfield.