Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Tim Sherwood claims that Jurgen Klopp was offered the chance to sign Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong but turned it down.
Fabinho has been a revelation at Anfield, but it could have been the Dutchman that helped turn Liverpool’s midfield into what it now is.
As we know, de Jong left Ajax for Barcelona over the summer in a deal worth around £70million, but Sherwood doesn’t clarify as to when Klopp was offered the midfielder.
If it would have been recently, I’d have to guess that the potential fee made the boss baulk, but if it was a few years back then I’m a little intrigued.
“I know that there was a couple of players that were offered to Jurgen Klopp,” he’s quoted as saying by the Express.
“Frenkie de Jong, the boy from Ajax, who ended up going to Barcelona, who is a more controlled, cultured player.
“Or someone like Fabinho who likes to play at that tempo and break up the game a little bit more and gets around the pitch. So he had one choice.”
As Sherwood alluded to, it’s probably for the best that Liverpool didn’t go for de Jong – he’s a quality player, but more suited to Barcelona’s brand of football, whereas Fabinho is better for a team managed by Klopp.