Despite the Reds’ official line that the club won’t be pursuing any big-name signings this summer that hasn’t stopped rumours fomenting in the media.
The latest comes from Spanish outlet El Desmarque who suggest the Reds are again interested in signing Real Madrid’s 23-year-old forward Marco Asensio. That’s despite a mammoth €75 million being quoted for him and the possible inclusion of Sadio Mané in the deal (more on that later).
Even after 30 La Liga appearances yielded just a single goal this season, the Spaniard is still being priced at an astronomical fee due to his similarly high potential and the fact Asensio’s contract has been renewed after the Reds, PSG, and Bayern Munich went after him last summer, according to El Confidencial.
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez decided to renew the contract of Marco Asensio until 2023 due to interest from PSG, Bayern Munich & Liverpool. #LFC offered more than €100M (€89.6M+) last summer. [@elconfidencial] pic.twitter.com/WrwT8GPnxy
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) July 8, 2019
Anyway, according to the El Desmarque report, Asensio is “one of the few players who is not transferable, but they [Real Madrid] know that if a good offer arrives or there is a possibility he enters into [becomes involved] in a trade his future could be far from the Santiago Bernabéu.”
Equally, the report claims Jürgen Klopp is not satisfied with having conquered the Champions League and wants to consolidate that trophy by improving his squad.
The Reds are apparently willing to “throw the house out of the window” (to borrow a Spanish phrase) and do all in their power to sign Asensio who will come with a price of nearly €75 million – Real would stand to make a staggering profit on a player they only paid €3.9 million for from RCD Mallorca.
Read more:
Reds up against Spurs in transfer tussle for £50m-rated Real Madrid starlet
According to the El Desmarque report – which Sport Witness also picked up – Klopp believes that Asensio would be the ideal complement to his current front three, strangely adding “especially in case Mohamed Salah has an injury.”
That said, the barrier to any movement on this potential deal comes in the form of Zinedine Zidane, who is quoted as saying he would be loathe to lose “the best left-footed player I’ve seen since Leo Messi.”
Real Madrid are dangling Marco Asensio at Liverpool in an attempt to make a play at Sadio Mane.
The Express says that Real are prepared to let the 23-year-old Asensio go, and that Liverpool like the attacking midfielder’s style.
Thoughts on that one? 💭 pic.twitter.com/lUdtiVl16m
— Goal (@goal) June 29, 2019
Accordingly, the report states that Zidane does not want to be responsible for strengthening a “direct rival” – another nod to the Reds’ rising reputation in Europe – and would claim adequate compensation to that effect. Namely, Sadio Mané.
Apparently already having asked club president Florentino Perez if he would want to consider a deal for Mané that would see Asensio go the other way, Zidane remains keen to finally land his long-term target in the form of the Reds’ Senegalese sensation.
It seems extremely unlikely that Klopp would even contemplate the ghost of the idea of letting Mané leave Anfield, despite rumours from the less-than-reliable Daily Express which have also previously suggested the 27-year-old could be involved in swap deal for Asensio.
It’s a theory that bears up even less in the light when you consider that Asensio has scored 27 goals in his entire Real Madrid career, while the Reds’ star scored 22 in the league alone this season.
Similarly, it’s a small note, and hopefully not too pendantic, but the report states that Asensio played 28 games, even though he played 30, while also suggesting Asensio cost €4.5 million when he cost €3.9 million. Minor inaccuracies, but they hint at a rushed job and potentially not a very reliable one.