Liverpool’s departure from the process of attempting to land Leny Yoro’s signature this summer was no doubt motivated in no small part by financial matters.
The total package (€70m [£58.9m] that would have been required to bring the Frenchman to Anfield was considered a prohibitive fee for a player with less than 100 senior starts for Lille.
Further to the point, reliable reporter James Pearce added that the Reds’ inability to make guarantees about playing time factored into matters.
#LFC were interested in Leny Yoro – but his camp wanted guarantees about playing time & LFC couldn't provide it given presence of VVD, Quansah, Konate & Gomez so they moved on. United able to offer starts and willing to pay the highest fee with €70m dealhttps://t.co/vGbsxgudIf
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) July 18, 2024
By contrast, United were able to shake hands with the Ligue 1 outfit and the 18-year-old’s entourage on both fronts.
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Meanwhile, uncertainty reigns over Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future, with it now reported that the Scouser is open to considering his options amid interest from Real Madrid.
There’s nothing more infuriating than missing out on a top talent to your arch rival.
That said, it’s worth emphasising it was down, more or less, to factors out of our control. Okay, we could have matched United’s offer for a talent deemed to be potentially generational – perhaps that will come back to bite us down the line.
But there can be no guarantees Yoro will fulfil his lofty potential. Liverpool, on their part, have to mitigate risk given the teenager has yet to play a significant number of senior games. No dice there.
As far as game time is concerned, you can understand why having the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah may prove obstructive to Yoro’s desired minutes.
Ultimately, of course, we’d still rather Liverpool be in their own position only needing a few tweaks here and there, rather than the wholesale changes United so desperately require.
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