Liverpool aren’t favourites to sign ‘explosive’ midfielder, talking to another club

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Liverpool have been dealt a potential blow ahead of the January transfer market opening.

The Reds continue to be linked with new signings, as they look to consolidate their good start to the season.

One of those rumoured to be on Liverpool’s radar is 17-year-old Schalke midfielder Assan Ouedraogo. However, according to German journalist Christian Falk, the Reds have now fallen behind RB Leipzig in the race to sign the wonderkid.

“Leipzig has an advantage over Liverpool when it comes to Assan Ouedraogo,” he explained via The Daily Briefing today.

“The player’s father was already in negotiations in Leipzig. FC Bayern also met with him, but now know that Leipzig are favourites.

“The player would like to stay at Schalke, as the move comes too early for him. But if he has to change, it would be better in Germany first. It seems like Liverpool will have to be patient.”

Liverpool dealt Ouedraogo blow

It had already been reported that Leipzig had potentially taken the lead in this particular saga.

But this little update from Falk would suggest that Liverpool’s interest is now virtually redundant. Essentially, Ouedraogo wants to stay in Germany whatever happens.

As he’s just 17, you can’t really argue with that intention. In fact, under post-Brexit rules, the Reds would have to wait until the midfielder is 18 to sign him anyway.

With Ouedraogo hitting that milestone next May, that obviously wouldn’t be a problem for a summer arrival at Anfield.

But if Liverpool wanted to get ahead of the competition and bring him in during the January window, things become a bit more complicated.

As a result, we think we can potentially write this one off for now. That doesn’t mean Ouedraogo will never end up at Liverpool, though. We know what the Reds think of Leipzig, for instance. If the teenager heads there, the Reds’ interest certainly won’t disappear.

For now though, it seems they’ll have to watch on as the youngster continues to develop in Germany. Bundesliga.com recently labelled the teenager as an ‘explosive’ talent, so Liverpool would be wise to remain in the mix long-term.

Although currently injured, Ouedraogo has established himself in Schalke’s first-team this season. With the Royal Blues in danger of relegation to the third tier of German football though, they’re going to lose him sooner or later.