Sofyan Amrabat has explained why he joined Manchester United on loan during the summer transfer window, despite Liverpool’s reported interest.
The Merseysiders are believed to have been very close to landing the 27-year-old, who was personally contacted by Jurgen Klopp (Daily Mail), but ultimately he ended up at Old Trafford after leaving Fiorentina on a temporary basis.
As per The Independent, the Morocco midfielder explained: “After the last game with the club, it was the Conference League final with West Ham and from that moment, the window started for me. A lot of clubs, a lot of speaking, talking, but for me it was clear I wanted Manchester United.
“It was long, long months for me, difficult months for me, but at the end it’s nice on the last day that I signed here and that I’m here is now the most important (thing).”
Amrabat’s version of events appear to differ slightly from other reports that, due to delays among his representatives, it was Liverpool who opted out of a proposed deal to prioritise a move for Ryan Gravenberch instead.
Whatever the truth might be, it certainly seems as if the £65,000-per-week midfielder (Capology) had his heart set on United all along, in which case Klopp’s approach was never realistically going to work given the intense rivalry between the two northwestern clubs.
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In any event, it doesn’t seem like the Reds lost out to a great extent considering our swoop for the Dutchman, who’s six years younger than the Moroccan and had already played for two giant clubs in Ajax and Bayern Munich before coming to Merseyside.
Also, Liverpool have definitely had a better start to the campaign than the Red Devils, so the Anfield hierarchy may feel quite happy with the business they pulled off over the summer rather than lying awake at night regretting those which got away.