Well, if Liverpool sign do sign a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, it isn’t going to be Renato Sanches.
The Portugal midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield.
Mundo Deportivo reported from Spain this week that Liverpool was Sanches’s ‘most likely’ destination amid speculation of a £33 million switch to England.
And his absence from the Lille squad on Saturday certainly looked like an interesting development.
But that omission was linked to a knee injury as it turns out and with surgery looming, he isn’t going to be joining Liverpool.
Here’s how some fans of the Premier League giants reacted:
Bullet dodged
From the Reds’ perspective, this might be a bit of a relief.
It would’ve been the most Liverpool thing ever for Michael Edwards to drop £33 million on a new signing and then lose him for a number of months with a knee injury.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez missed most of the 2020-21 campaign with knee issues and although it’s a different type of injury, they can lead to major layoffs.
It remains to be seen whether Liverpool get back on the horse and continue their hunt for a Wijnaldum replacement in light of this development, or simply stick with what they have – Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones, in terms of alternatives to the Dutchman.
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