One player for whom Liverpool are believed to have made an offer has reportedly decided on his next club.
According to Spanish outlet AS, the Reds are among several clubs to have submitted ‘proposals’ to try and sign Marco Asensio, who’s now thought to have made up his mind.
The Spain international is set to leave Real Madrid for Paris Saint-Germain and is already in the French capital, with the transfer expected to be finalised in the coming days.
The forward is believed to have been swayed by the promise of regular first-team football, the near-guarantee of annual Champions League participation and the financial incentive of a ‘significant transfer bonus’.
Taking those three apparent deciding factors into account, it appears that Liverpool would always find it difficult to vie with PSG for Asensio’s signature.
Given the wealth of attacking options at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal, in particular the presence of the ever-prolific Mo Salah on the Spaniard’s preferred right flank, he may have struggled to carve out a regular starting berth at Anfield.
He’d also have given up on Champions League football for at least one year after the Reds missed out on the 2023/24 edition, while in reality we were never going to compete with the Ligue 1 kingpins over the astronomical wages they’re able to offer their players.
Asensio would certainly have been a more than useful squad option for Liverpool, having netted 61 goals in 286 appearances for Real Madrid and won three European Cups at the Bernabeu (Transfermarkt).
He’d also have given Klopp a valuable right-sided attacking option who could’ve been used in Europa League games to give Salah a well-earned breather – at present there’s no natural alternative to the Egyptian in that position at Anfield (Transfermarkt).
Alas, other areas of the pitch were always going to attract more urgent attention from Jorg Schmadtke and co this summer, so while it’s a pity to have missed out on the 27-year-old, it’s nothing to regret for too long, with the focus instead to be fixed on players who’d be more attainable.