They say revenge is best served cold. Liverpool supporters may disagree. Revenge, in the eyes of many on the red side of Stanley Park, is best served in the transfer market instead, Jurgen Klopp taking an eye-for-an-eye approach after Real Madrid landed a potentially fatal blow in their pursuit of Jude Bellingham.
Borussia Dortmund’s England international, The Athletic say, had initially been Liverpool’s number one target ahead of the summer transfer window. That was until his price-tag spiralled out of control, Real’s superior financial muscle meaning all roads now lead to Madrid for a man who could set Los Blancos back a club-record £105 million.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos still have plenty to offer. But Fede Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham? That is some future Madrid are building.
But how does Gabri Veiga fit into all this? Maybe he doesn’t. Not any more, anyway.
Will Liverpool now beat Real Madrid to Gabri Veiga?
Veiga has a £33 million release clause in his Celta Vigo contract. An affordable, very accessible release clause for most of Europe’s top clubs. But, after committing themselves to investing over £100 million on Bellingham – and with a new centre-forward likely to be the next big priority – the smart money now appears to be on Veiga swapping Balaidos for Britain rather than following the former Birmingham wonderkid to the Spanish capital.
“Let’s see what happens with Gabri Veiga. I still see him more in the Premier League (than La Liga),” AS reporter Manu Sainz said this week.
“It is true what our colleague published a few days ago that Madrid were bidding for Veiga, but I don’t see him close to Madrid. I see him closer to Liverpool. A club that has been following him for a long time.”
‘Liverpool willing to pay’
Veiga, while more attack-minded than Bellingham, suddenly feels more than a little superfluous for a Madrid side boasting arguably the greatest collection of midfielders in European football. Real Madrid may not be an opportunity that comes around every day. But, for a 20-year-old with just one season of regular first-team football under his belt, it’s difficult to imagine that a move to the Santiago Bernabeu would do anything but stall his development.
“Newcastle is a club that were the first to travel to Vigo to monitor him. You know they are willing to pay the 40 million euro release clause. Liverpool are as well,” Sainz adds.
“Now the ball is in Veiga’s court. He is going to decide which option he wants. He can pick what he likes the most.”
Few clubs on the planet – if any – can compete with the allure of Real Madrid. But Veiga – the top-scoring midfielder in La Liga this term with nine – is in need of a club willing to place the sort of trust, time and patience into him as Dortmund did for Bellingham.
So enter Liverpool. The club in need of a midfield overhaul, and the club who employ a manager in Jurgen Klopp who boasts a formidable record when it comes to turning precocious talents into elite-level A-listers.
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