Liverpool saw a 100m euro bid for Federico Valverde knocked back by Real Madrid in the final days of the transfer window as they continued their search for a new midfielder, according to reports from Spain.
The Reds and Jurgen Klopp railed against the idea of adding a midfielder to their ranks for much of the summer, only to suffer injuries to Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thiago and Jordan Henderson in the opening weeks of the campaign.
It led to a U-turn on the policy, with Klopp announcing to the media that “I’m the one who said we don’t need a midfielder, and now we need a midfielder. You were all right and I was wrong. That is the situation. But that specific point doesn’t change it. If we do something, then it has to be the right one.”
And they ended up moving for Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo on an initial loan deal, with an option to buy the Brazilian set at 37.5m euros should he impress at Anfield.
Very proud to join this incredible club. I’m ready! @LFC pic.twitter.com/qGUKc1tyf8
— Arthur Melo (@arthurhromelo) September 1, 2022
However, according to Spanish outlet AS, it was Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde that the Merseyside outfit were pushing hardest for in the window’s dying days.
“In the last two market days of this summer, on August 31 and September 1, Liverpool made a brutal offensive to hire Valverde”, they claim. “The interest of the ‘reds’ reached such a point that they were willing to pay 100 million euros to convince the Los Blancos”, they add.
Liverpool are expected to be active in regenerating their ageing midfield next summer, with Jude Bellingham high among their targets while Konrad Laimer is also another option.
