Financial problems wrecked £35m move for Championship star
Financial problems wrecked a move Liverpool were trying to engineer for a £35 million Championship star.
The club came under a lot of criticism for failing to sign anyone in January; until it was almost too late. In the end, FSG managed to find the money to bring in Ben Davies from Preston and Ozan Kabak from Schalke, but there could have been bigger fish in the offering.
According to a player’s agent, everything was done and dusted on a move that would have seen Liverpool pay £35 million for someone playing in the second tier.
Liverpool wanted to spend big
That’s a lot of money to splash on a football who is outside of the top division, but we’ve seen those men hit the ground running in the top flight. Ollie Watkins has been one of Aston Villa’s best players, while former Nottingham Forest right-back Matty Cash has also done well with the Villains.
Neal Maupay was Brighton’s top scorer last season after arriving from Brentford, while Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma have become important parts of the West Ham side.
The man in question is Ismaila Sarr, who Liverpool have been interested in for some time. There were plenty of transfer rumours linking the Senegal forward with a move to Anfield over the summer, and there appears to have been some genuine interest.
Liverpool have a longstanding interest in Ismaila Sarr
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According to PanAfrican Football, Sarr’s agent Thierno Seydi said that the contract was sorted and Sarr was asking Sadio Mane where the best place to live in the city would be.
"Seydi said: “With Liverpool, a few days ago, we were at the stage of signing the contract to bind the Reds to Ismaila Sarr. Everything was done, the monthly salary and the length of the contract. I even asked Sadio Mane to find him an apartment.“But, in the end, the English club could not put 40 million euros (£35 million) on the table to finalise this case.”"
However, Liverpool couldn’t come up with the money that Watford demanded for their star forward. Sarr was one of their best players as the Hornets were relegated from the Premier League last season, scoring five goals and assisting six.
This season he’s already had over 10 goal involvements. In 24 Championship appearances, Sarr has scored five and assisted six as he’s played all but four games.
One thing that’s interesting about this deal is Liverpool’s apparent desire to negotiate a deal for a forward when it’s clear that the club needed more centre-backs so desperately. The cost of his contract would have been substantial, and they must have been aware of the fee from the start.
While this statement from Sarr’s agent doesn’t smell fishy, it doesn’t smell super fresh either.