Liverpool were really in for ‘big talent’ this summer but were beaten to him by Brighton

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool did not set the world alight with their transfer business during the summer window.

The Reds were busy trying to transition away from the Jurgen Klopp era, with Arne Slot and a new recruitment team being put in place.

In the end, there was not a great deal that the new set-up got done. Despite claims that sporting director Richard Hughes has impressed other clubs with his work at Liverpool, the Reds were arguably left a little short.

Although Federico Chiesa was brought in to help boost the forward options, neither a central midfielder nor a centre-back were signed, both of which the Liverpool squad could have done with.

However, just because Liverpool did not do a lot of business does not mean that they did not try. And it seems that on the contrary, the Reds were pushing to do whatever they could.

Liverpool missed out on Brajan Gruda signing

The biggest move Liverpool tried to make but couldn’t get over the line was of course Martin Zubimendi.

Had the midfielder arrived from Real Sociedad, it would have changed the whole complexion of the Reds transfer window.

And as per German journalist Christian Falk, Zubimendi was not the only player Liverpool let slip through their fingers.

Writing in his Fact Files column, Falk claims that the Reds could perhaps have signed Brajan Gruda from Mainz had they pushed just a little harder. Instead, Gruda ended up at Brighton.

“One other English club also knocked on the door [for Gruda] this summer – it was Liverpool,” says the reporter.

READ MORE: Liverpool made late move to try and sign £67m Napoli player

“I heard that Liverpool were interested in him and perhaps they made a mistake not getting concrete with this one. That’s also the case for Bayern Munich, of course!

“In the end, they all couldn’t give him guarantees for this position, but they tried. They saw the big talent of Gruda.

“Liverpool were the only club from England’s Big Six who were talking with the management,” adds Falk. “But in the middle class of clubs in England there were plenty of sides who were interested in him.

“If Liverpool had been concrete for Gruda, it would have been a big challenge for Brighton to sign him.”

Liverpool will keep monitoring Brajan Gruda

Liverpool were linked with Gruda over the summer. However it never looked like something the Reds were prioritising.

The 20-year-old does look like a special kind of talent, but he’s also more of an attacking midfielder than anything. Liverpool don’t really need another of those.

Nevertheless, the fact that Brighton have picked him up indicates that Gruda will be one to watch over the coming couple of seasons.

If he does well on the South Coast, it seems fairly likely that Liverpool will not lose their interest in him and could then move concretely to sign the Germany U21 international.

For the moment, Gruda has a knock and is yet to make his Brighton debut. When he does, though, he’s going to be worth keeping an eye on.