Premier League giants Liverpool chartered a private jet to bring Yevhen Konoplyanka to Anfield only for a deal to fall through at the eleventh hour, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk’s CEO tells Ukrainian publication Tribuna.
Not so long ago, Konoplyanka was one of the most exciting young wingers in European football.
So much so that, during the January 2014 transfer window, a Liverpool side in pursuit of their first ever Premier League title identified the spring-heeled forward as a player capable of dragging Brendan Rodgers’ rampant Reds over the line.
According to The Guardian, Konoplyanka even agreed personal terms ahead of a £16 million move to Merseyside.
That was, however, until the deal broke down at the 11th hour. Then then-24-year-old wideman was denied a move that would have seen him join Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho in Rodgers’ star-studded frontline.
Will Yevhen Konoplyanka ever play Premier League football?
“For Konoplyanka, whom Liverpool wanted to buy, a specific amount was assigned. The British club fought to the last (minute),” reflects Dnipro CEO Andriy Stetsenko.
“Then their representatives flew to us on a private jet for the final stage of negotiations. In case of a positive outcome, Konoplyanka was supposed to fly away with them.
“They did not agree with the figure that was announced to them. Perhaps they thought that a private jet would make some impression. That shows the seriousness of their intentions.
“(But Dnipro) did not go for a price reduction. As a result, they flew away with nothing.”
Nearly a decade on, Jurgen Klopp continues to build on the foundations laid down by Brendan Rodgers at Anfield. Konoplyanka, meanwhile, has been left wondering what might have been.
Now 32, the Ukraine international is back home with Shakhtar Donetsk. He sparkled intermittently in La Liga with Sevilla between 2015 and 2017 but failed to live up to lofty expectations. It was a similar story at Schalke.
“I am sorry I didn’t join Liverpool when they wanted me,” Konoplyanka said in 2015, via The Mail. “But this Europa League final will help me get over that.”
Ten days later, Dnipro would go down 3-2 to European specialists Sevilla in Warsaw. And that, in hindsight, was Konoplyanka’s career in a nutshell.
A dream ripped from his grasp.
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