Jurgen Klopp's Premier League leaders Liverpool reportedly want to sign the Bundesliga's most improved player.
Amine Harit has committed his future to Schalke until the summer of 2014 with the in-form playmaker dashing any hopes Liverpool had of luring him to Anfield in the near future.
A precociously talented Moroccan international who has drawn comparisons with Zinedine Zidane for his skill and vision, Harit has been arguably the most improved player in the Bundesliga this season, almost single-handedly dragging Schalke into European contention.
The former Nantes starlet has six goals and five assists in all competitions. And, according to Corriere dello Sport, Jurgen Klopp was hoping for a favour from his old friend David Wagner with Liverpool hoping to snap up an influential playmaker for a bargain £17 million.
But, with just a matter of weeks remaining until the transfer window swings open, Harit has chosen the perfect time to remind Schalke fans everywhere that he is loving life at the Veltins Arena.
“I would like to thank the club and its leaders for always believing in me and coming to me in difficult times. I would like to continue repaying this trust,” the 22-year-old told the club’s official website.
“I do not see my sporting development as having finished and I would like to play European football in the coming years with Schalke. We can only achieve that as a team.”
Sporting director Jochen Schneider admitted that the contract extension was a ‘great moment’ for a club who have underachieved for far too long, adding that plenty of clubs had expressed an interest in their prized asset – though he did not mention Liverpool by name.
The Reds might have missed out on Harit for now but those links suggest that Klopp is aware of the need to add a little more cutting edge and creativity to a rather workmanlike engine room.
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