According to Goal, Liverpool genuinely considered swooping for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse during the summer transfer window.
The Lowdown: Liverpool quiet…
Over these last few months, Anfield has been one of the quietest clubs in the English top flight when it comes to incomings.
The majority of their business was conducted through securing their current first team stars and tying them down to new and improved long term deals.
Ibrahima Konate did sign for Liverpool from RB Leipzig very early in the window to the tune of around £36 million, but that was the sum of their first team arrivals on Merseyside.
The Latest: Liverpool weighed Ward-Prowse move…
However, as per this report from Goal, Liverpool did in fact consider swooping for more first team additions and one of them was Southampton star Ward-Prowse.
The 26-year-old, who went on to sign a new deal at St Mary’s, was on the Reds’ radar alongside the likes of Marcel Sabitzer (now Bayern Munich), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Ismaila Sarr (Watford) and Harvey Barnes (Leicester).
While there was interest, Liverpool didn’t follow through akin to the rest of their targets – with supporters now having to wait until January for the prospect of new signings.
The Verdict: Mountainous task…
Ward-Prowse would have been a good signing for Jurgen Klopp’s side, especially considering his praise at Southampton over this last year.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl even lauded the player as ‘unbelievable’ following his very consistent 2020/2021 campaign on the south coast (Hampshire Live).
However, once he signed a new long term deal, which The Athletic say takes his value to around £50 million, it became an impossible task for Liverpool or any other interested party.
Whether or not the Reds could have mounted an improved assault before that fresh contract, we’ll never know.
In other news: ‘Salt to the wounds’, ‘Pain’, ‘FSG out’…Liverpool fans fume over ’embarrassment’, find out more here.
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