Liverpool still in the race to sign German wonderkid as Bayern call off deal
- Liverpool have long-standing interest in Schalke's Assan Ouedraogo
- The club has just been handed a massive transfer boost, with Bayern stepping away from a deal
- However, Liverpool must act quickly as Ouedraogo has interest from multiple PL clubs
By Evan Curnew
Premier League clubs are just a month away from officially signing overseas players, with the summer transfer window fully opening on July 1st. Liverpool is not expected to be overly busy this summer despite an overhaul in management personnel. However, they have been strongly linked to German wonderkid Assan Ouedraogo, and they have just been handed a massive transfer boost should they advance their interest in the player.
Liverpool still in the race to sign German wonderkid as Bayern call off deal
According to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Bayern Munich, which looked like the front-runner to sign Assan Ouedraogo, has scaled back its interest in signing the midfielder this summer. Plettenberg reported just days earlier that multiple Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, have contacted Ouedraogo's entourage to ask if the player was already close to joining another club. Liverpool's interest in the player goes back to October of last year.
The 18-year-old German is believed to have a release clause of just £12 million, but it must be activated in the coming weeks. The Schalke star suffered a significant ligament tear that kept him out for a long stretch of the season, but when healthy, the 2006-born midfielder was a factor in most games for the fallen German giants, who now sit in 2. Bundesliga.
Ouedraogo has represented Die Mannschaft at the U17 and U16 levels to date. He won the U17 Euros in 2023 with Germany, playing five out of six games on his way to silverware. Ouedraogo also won the U17 World Cup last year but missed most of the tournament after suffering his ligament injury against New Zealand in the group stage.
It seems unlikely that Liverpool would plan to use Ouedraogo as a regular right away, and a loan would make a lot of sense should he move to Anfield. Ouedgraogo has been with Schalke for some time, joining their academy setup in 2014. Some notable names to move from Schalke to Liverpool include Joel Matip and Ozan Kabak, who was briefly on loan during the Reds' centre-back crisis a few seasons ago.
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