Liverpool sources have dismissed reports linking the club with a move for Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio.
The Spain international is out of contract at the Bernabeu next summer and, having found starting opportunities limited last season, the 26-year-old has repeatedly been linked with a move to Anfield by reports in his homeland.
Reports in Spain have claimed Liverpool want to sign the midfielder who could be available for a cut-price £25m, with Asensio said to be willing to take a pay-cut to enable a switch to Anfield.
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However, club insiders insist the Reds are not interested in signing the Spaniard, and have reiterated the stance that incoming transfer business is done for the summer with plans to sign a new midfielder on hold until 2023.
Liverpool are currently in the process of revamping Jurgen Klopp ’s squad as they look to ensure continued success with a ‘retain and refresh strategy’, which has seen Mohamed Salah sign a new three-year-contract and Sadio Mane depart the club after sporting director Julian Ward was tasked with remodelling the Reds’ attack.
Having also seen Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi depart, Liverpool have brought in Luis Diaz in a deal worth up to £49m, Darwin Nunez for a potential club-record £85m and Fabio Carvalho for a maximum £7.7m in compensation in 2022, along with Scotland Under-21s right-back Calvin Ramsay.
The profile of such signings continues to be the direction the Reds’ recruitment is going in as they look to refresh their squad with younger players. As a result, the ECHO understands the club remain reluctant to part with significant fees for more mature stars, with players in their early twenties, like Nunez, the oldest they will be tempted to spend big on.
Such a stance would not affect any potential pursuit of Jude Bellingham after reports last week claimed Borussia Dortmund had slapped an £103m price-tag on the England international’s head. Liverpool do have interest in the 19-year-old and would not be put off by a significant fee. But while plans to sign a midfielder are set to be on hold until next summer, when the Bundesliga side would consider a sale, it remains to be seen whether the Reds would attempt to fight off the expected vast interest to secure his signature or switch attentions to alternative targets.
Meanwhile, club sources have also denied that Liverpool ever had any interest in re-signing Raheem Sterling from Man City. The Mirror claimed that Chelsea have fought off interest from the Reds and a number of other clubs to seal a £45m deal for the England international.
The winger, who left Anfield in unceremonious circumstances back in the summer of 2015, is another player who doesn’t fit into Liverpool’s transfer model. The 27-year-old has reportedly agreed personal terms with Thomas Tuchel’s side as he goes in search of regular starting football, with Anfield sources dismissing any suggestion of Reds interest in the player as ‘total nonsense’.
Having added Nunez, Diaz and Carvalho to their attacking ranks this calendar year, along with extending Salah’s contract, Liverpool would have no room for Sterling in their starting XI regardless and are pleased with the attacking options already at their disposal heading into the 2022/23 season.
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