Austria Vienna’s sporting director Manuel Ortlechner has said Liverpool loanee Billy Koumetio is unlikely to play for the club again, with the Reds set to recall the defender in the coming days.
Speaking to Sky Sports Austria, the Austrian Bundesliga official revealed that Liverpool have been in talks with Vienna to recall Koumetio from his season-long loan spell, with the centre-back only making 11 appearances for the senior team.
Ortlechner said when asked about Koumetio’s future at Vienna: “We are in close exchange and I have a phone call with Liverpool later because they would like to bring Koumetio back. We still think that this is an incredibly exciting player.”
The former Vienna captain later added: “He can have a really exciting career, but Liverpool want to bring him back now, they have the right. We still have to clarify everything, but Billy Koumetio will 99% not play for Austria Wien again.”
Regarded by many as one of Liverpool’s most exciting prospects, Koumetio struggled to make much of an impact at Vienna despite arriving with a big reputation from Anfield as well as numerous French youth teams. However, the decision has seemingly been made to recall the centre-back.
With just 11 appearances for Vienna in all competitions, five of which were starts, Koumetio heading back to Liverpool is the right decision for all clubs, with the Reds now tasked with finding another loan club for the 20-year-old talent this month.
Liverpool have made the correct call recalling Koumetio from Austria
Koumetio has all the tools to become a top player if the defender has the right development in the coming years, and Liverpool’s decision to recall the centre-back is one that could go a long way in the French youngster fulfilling his potential.
With the January window now in full swing, Liverpool now have time to assess Koumetio’s options and to make a new decision on whether to loan out the defender or to keep the talented prospect around for the remainder of the season, with Virgil van Dijk’s injury potentially an opportunity for the defender to play some minutes.
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