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Declan Rice could trigger transfer chain for Liverpool to revisit player who loves Jürgen Klopp
Liverpool is reportedly one of the clubs to have shown an interest in West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.
Unfortunately, West Ham’s nine-figure demands (via Sky Sports) are likely to price the Reds out of any deal given they walked away from the race for the similarly expensive Jude Bellingham.
However, one potential move for Rice could still play nicely into Jürgen Klopp’s hands.
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According to journalist Philipp Kessler (via Bavarian Football Works), Bayern Munich could offload Leon Goretzka if it manages to bring in Rice.
‘In general’, Goretzka is ‘highly appreciated’ at the Allianz Arena, but there are some at the club who feel the balance just isn’t right with the German partnering Joshua Kimmich in midfield.
What’s more, certain figures at Bayern are ‘unhappy’ with the player’s ‘political involvement’ because they would prefer him to focus on football.
Goretzka subscribes to the idea that national players are ‘foreign ministers in shorts’, and believes he has a ‘great responsibility’ to use his platform to ‘raise awareness’ of important issues (via Goal).
Should he be put up for sale by the Bundesliga champion this summer, Liverpool is expected to be a ‘suitor’.
The Reds tried to sign Goretzka back in 2018 when he was playing for Schalke, and the player has admitted they were a serious ‘consideration’.
“They’re a great club, and their development since Kloppo came has been amazing,” he told The Athletic in 2020. “We’re all a little proud of him winning the title. But I took a long time making my decision, and I was 100 per cent sure that Bayern was the right move for me.”
Perhaps Klopp’s side will be top of Goretzka’s list if he is prompted to move on.
From Liverpool’s point of view, the midfielder is certainly an attractive proposition. He starred on Bayern’s run to Champions League glory in 2019/20, earning a place in the squad of the season, and has also been named in the Bundesliga’s best XI on two occasions (2017/18 and 2020/21).
Instead of fielding him in a double pivot alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has played a similar role to Kimmich since becoming a hybrid midfielder, Klopp could learn from Bayern’s mistake by using him as an advanced no.8.
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Indeed, FBRef says that Goretkza, who has notched a highly impressive 69 goal contributions in 179 appearances for Bayern, possesses a similar profile to Borussia Dortmund’s Bellingham, and the 19-year-old was seemingly earmarked for that role at one point.
One concern for Liverpool may be that he turned 28 this year and is therefore outside the ideal age range for the club’s midfield rebuild.
But if the club wants to make an immediate return to the top, then this may be the kind of signing that makes sense, particularly if Bayern is willing to sell for a reasonable fee in the wake of a potential club-record deal for Rice.
Liverpool has previously been on the trail of Ryan Gravenberch (via Sky Sports), but maybe teammate Goretzka will be the casualty of the Thomas Tuchel revolution instead.
Either way, Klopp and co will be keenly awaiting developments.
