Liverpool have reportedly decided to end their pursuit of Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven after Jorg Schmadtke and Jurgen Klopp came to an agreement that a transfer would come too early in the defender’s career.
This comes courtesy of Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, with the decision being reached despite the club’s new sporting director having already shared a working relationship with the Dutchman.
That may not necessarily be a huge blow for the player given Tottenham’s well-documented interest, theoretically leaving one door open to a Premier League move should he desire it.
READ MORE: Liverpool will allow ‘intelligent’ star to leave Anfield if he wishes to go – report
With quality left-footed centre-halves in short supply in world football, one might have thought this would be one transfer that would make sense – especially given the likely astronomical price-tag that will be slapped on the backs of talents like Levi Colwill.
At 22 years of age, Van de Ven doesn’t appear too young for a switch to the English top-flight, though it’s entirely possible his footballing maturity has yet to develop to the desired level favoured by our recruitment team.
It’s a shame we can’t capitalise on Schmadtke’s prior relationship with Wolfsburg here, though the club certainly has history when it comes to risk-taking (or a lack of) in the market.