Liverpool could have brought Marcos Llorente to the Premier League before his shock move from Real Madrid to La Liga rivals Atletico.
The agent of new Atletico Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente has admitted that he held talks with Liverpool before the Spaniard sealed a controversial big-money move to the Wanda Metropolitano, as reported by Cadena Ser.
The 24-year-old rose through the ranks at Real Madrid and made 39 appearances for Los Blancos at senior level but, once he was told that he had no place in Zinedine Zidane’s plans for the upcoming season, a departure looked inevitable.
Few expected that Llorente would make the 13 kilometre journey from the Bernabau to the Metropolitano, however, with city rivals Atletico snapping up the defensive midfielder for £36 million, as reported by Marca.
But everything could have been different if Liverpool were not so well-stocked in central midfield.
Jurgen Klopp can already call upon Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and co while Marko Gruiic still has plenty of admirers at Anfield. And Llorente’s agent admits that the Champions of Europe turned down the chance to add Llorente to their already talented roster.
“I contacted several clubs to let them know what had happened, the conversation that Zidane and Marcos had had, one of which was Liverpool,” Julio Llorente, who is also Marcos’s uncle, admitted.
“But Marcos’s (position) was covered and it was not a priority.”
Llorente might be a hugely promising midfielder likened to Sergio Busquetts for his exceptional reading of the game and passing skills. But if there are areas where Liverpool need to strengthen, central midfield is not one of them.
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