Liverpool youngster Bobby Adekanye will reportedly refuse any new contract offers from the Reds as he eyes pastures new.
Lazio and Barcelona are interested, according to Sky Sports News, and it would seem Adekanye’s head has been turned.
The 20-year-old has complained about his lack of opportunity at Liverpool.
“I expected that I would get a chance at Liverpool sooner. Before I came, we talked about it. They said that if I had a good first season, I had a good chance of joining the first-team,” he told Voetbalzone.nl.
“Due to injury, that did not come true. I had to undergo surgery at the start of my second season and then it is difficult to return.
“Jurgen Klopp spoke to me and gave me tips. He said ‘keep doing your thing’. But in the end, I don’t think I appeared in his plans. If so, I have to look for something else. That is disappointing and it has helped me not to renew my contract.
“[A deal with Lazio being completed] is not at all the case,” he said. “It’s not over yet. It is one of the clubs that is interested, but it is not yet 100 per cent decided.”
The Biancocelesti have picked up two of our former players in Luis Alberto and Lucas Leiva.
Grande Vittoria stasera, grazie per il vostro sostegno.
Con l'uomo della partita @14_luisalberto #avanticosi #forzalaziocaricalalalálallá pic.twitter.com/JbpTJSG9ug— Lucas Leiva (@LucasLeiva87) April 18, 2018
The duo have gone on to have enjoyable stays at the Italian club thus far – and fair play to them. Their respective careers had run their course and now Adekanye has decided to cut his short.
The forward has history with Barcelona too; he joined the Reds from La Masia in 2015 and joined up with the Under 18s squad. It may be tempting for him to join another elite club, but he’s more likely to get the first-team football he’s after in Italy.
It does seem unusual that a player so young is thinking about giving up on his Liverpool career, but I’d hazard a guess that there’s more at play than just first-team chances.