Reliable Liverpool reporter Neil Jones has emphatically addressed transfer rumours linking the Reds with Benjamin Pavard.
Christian Falk told CaughtOffside in recent days that Jurgen Klopp’s side are ‘a hot candidate’ for the defender, who has informed Bayern Munich of his wishes to move on from the Allianz Arena.
However, speaking to The Redmen TV‘s Journo Insight show, the GOAL journalist made it very clear that the Anfield club have no interest in moving for the France international.
Jones said: “I didn’t think it made sense when it first emerged from his point of view and from Liverpool’s point of view. If it was a free transfer or something like that, you’d say maybe there would be a little bit in there.
“Dismissing transfer stories – especially transfer stories that are sourced by good journalists and reliable journalists – is always a dangerous thing, but Liverpool have dismissed it. Liverpool have said that it’s not true, we’re not in for him, we’re not after him, he’s not a target.
“Liverpool club sources dismiss a lot of players that are linked with Liverpool because a lot of players are linked within Liverpool. It’s very rare, in fact, I can’t think of anyone that they’ve ever done it in those explicit terms of: ‘Look, it’s not happening.’
“Sometimes you might get the wishy-washy dismissal of ‘not really much going on there’ or ‘not at this moment in time’. It wasn’t that. It was: ‘We don’t want this player.’
“I don’t expect him to be a Liverpool player this summer. Whoever I’ve been speaking to Liverpool doesn’t either. It will be interesting to see where he does end up, but I don’t think it’ll be Anfield.”
With two reliable journalists in Falk and Jones giving wildly contrasting updates on Pavard in recent days, it can be difficult to ascertain exactly what the situation is regarding Liverpool’s links with the player.
However, with the latter having claimed that the club themselves have shut down any notion of a move for the 27-year-old, it currently seems highly unlikely that the 2018 World Cup winner will be playing at Anfield by the end of August.
It’d be a shame if the Reds were to pass up the opportunity to at least test the waters for the Frenchman when he’s apparently made no secret of his desire to depart Bayern, given his abundant big-game pedigree and impressive CV across club and international level.
He’s won 10 trophies in Munich, including the Champions League and four Bundesliga titles (Transfermarkt), while also featuring in two separate France squads to have reached a World Cup final.
Also, with Trent Alexander-Arnold being redeployed in midfield towards the end of the 2022/23 season, it’s arguable that Liverpool could do with bringing in a more natural senior right-back, and it’d be hard to look past Pavard when it comes to the ideal blend of past achievement and remaining longevity.
We don’t need to completely close the door on the idea of the 27-year-old coming to Anfield just yet, but Jones’ update suggests that any such move seems very unlikely to materialise.