Liverpool made some calls about signing Manchester City centre-back Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig in January.
The Reds were long linked with a move for Gvardiol, who was confirmed as a new City player yesterday. But in the end, the money involved always looked a little too much for Liverpool.
However, speaking on his Here We Go Podcast on Saturday, journalist Fabrizio Romano insisted that the Reds were ‘always interested’ in the 21-year-old.
“Liverpool have always been really interested in Josko Gvardiol,” Romano explains. “In January they did some calls to understand the situation around the player, if there was a possibility to approach Leipzig, maybe to find a creative formula to sign the player. But Leipzig said ‘no way, the player is not for sale in January.’
“So Liverpool decided to focus on different targets and to invest their money in different positions, in the midfield especially this summer – we know they changed a lot.”
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Liverpool pass up Gvardiol chance
It’s interesting that, when it came down to it, Liverpool didn’t fight City for Gvardiol. Their admiration for the player is obvious and they could really do with a left-footed centre-back of his ilk.
Nevertheless, as Pep Guardiola moved forward with the deal, Liverpool effectively left him to it.
Of course, the money involved is a huge factor. City have done a couple of bits of business this summer, but this will be their big one.
The Reds on the other hand are still needing to do two or maybe even three sizeable signings. With midfield still not sorted a week out from the season’s start, they perhaps couldn’t justify going all in on a centre-half.
Nevertheless, squads are built over years, not weeks. Had Liverpool spent big on Gvardiol and brought in only one further midfielder for example, few would be complaining.
The Croatian has the potential to be one of the very best in the world. Surely the long-term benefits of getting such a player would make it at least worth putting an offer in on him.
Instead, Liverpool sat back and allowed City a free run at a future superstar. If only Leipzig had played ball back in the New Year.