Liverpool play high-stakes £17m waiting game

Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp (Photo by Max Maiwald/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp (Photo by Max Maiwald/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Liverpool are playing a £17 million waiting game.

Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards are waiting to see where the cards are going to fall before revealing their hand.

It’s a game of high stakes and it could lead to high reward, but is it the right thing to do now?

Timo Werner has a £53 million release clause in his deal right now, said Matt Law from the Telegraph, but that drops to just £36 million in 2021.

It’s an astonishing difference in value and it’s an usual one to introduce to a player’s contract, especially a star like Werner.

In any other year, it would seem like a no brainer. The German has an excellent goalscoring record in the Bundesliga and already has 29 international caps at the age of 24.

However, the financial impact of COVID-19 has meant purse strings need to be tightened and £53 million suddenly seems like a lot of money.

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Werner has mentioned that he wants to move to Liverpool, which is another reason why the club can afford to relax a little bit in their pursuit of the player.

But, there are other sharks circling the waters and Edwards can’t afford to be too blasé about things.

Law’s article for the Telegraph mentioned that Chelsea want to try and bring Werner to Stamford Bridge to supplement their forward options of Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud.

£17 million could allow Liverpool to bring in another player next season, either as a back-up or a talent youngster who could become the next Mohamed Salah or Kylian Mbappe.

It could allow extra work to be carried out on the training ground, or give some wiggle room in contract renewals.

It might not seem like a big sum in todays crazy football world, but Liverpool could do a lot with £17 million. It’s just a dangerous waiting game to play.