Liverpool put a massive bid on the table for Federico Valverde, according to reports. Real Madrid weren’t willing to sell.
This comes from AS. They claim that Liverpool lined up a move for Federico Valverde two weeks ago and tried to convince Real Madrid to sell.
The Reds were willing to pay a lot of money for the player, too. €100m (£86m) was mentioned, apparently, only for Los Blancos to say no. They weren’t willing to sell the Uruguayan for any amount – especially in the final days of the transfer window.
Liverpool instead brought in Arthur Melo on loan from Juventus.
Liverpool bid for Federico Valverde
It does seem a little unbelievable that Liverpool bid £86m for someone almost on a whim. After all, they decided very late in the transfer window that they wanted to sign a midfielder.
At the same time, this is a club that only wants the ‘right’ player. There aren’t too many midfielders who tick that box and it could well be that Liverpool were willing to go all-out for a special player.
Valverde is certainly that. He’s a fantastic player and still only 24. We could see why Liverpool may have thought Real would sell, too. They’ve got a incredible number of elite midfielders, having signed Aurélien Tchouaméni over the summer. Competition for places is extraordinary at Real – thus selling an option for £86m could have made sense.
Valverde is also the right type of midfielder for Liverpool. He can do just about everything in the middle, offering something in every playing style. That’s the kind of ability that Jurgen Klopp has built a very successful team around.
It wasn’t to be, however. We do wonder if Liverpool could end up revisiting this one, though. The fight for Jude Bellingham appears to be between the Reds and Real next summer. Should Liverpool lose out, you wonder if they’d try to pry Valverde away as an alternative.
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