Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Lemar could be available again years after he admitted regret at not joining Liverpool from Monaco.
Cast your mind back to that superb Monaco side from 2016-17.
The likes of Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Kylian Mbappe were all shining for the Ligue 1 side.
Unsurprisingly, they all ended up being signed by other European clubs and have a mixed record.
Fabinho, Bernardo and Mbappe have all been success stories whilst Bakayoko has never really lived up to his billing.
Thomas Lemar could be available for Liverpool again
Then there is Thomas Lemar, who kind of falls somewhere in between.
Snapped up by Atletico Madrid in 2018 for a huge €72million (£63million), Lemar was supposed to become a star in Spain.
Instead, Lemar hasn’t been dreadful but also hasn’t really been what Atletico thought they were signing.
In 154 games for Atletico, Lemar has managed just nine goals and 19 assists; for comparison, Lemar’s record in 27 fewer games for Monaco saw him score 13 more and assist 14 more.
Deployed as a winger, midfielder and even as a wing back, Lemar just hasn’t lived up to lofty expectations in the Spanish capital.
We’re now in a situation where Lemar is just months away from becoming a free agent with the 27-year-old out of contract next summer.
There is little word on a new deal and Mundo Deportivo reported earlier this month that Atletico may now let Lemar go in January.
Atletico need funds after crashing out of the Champions League group stage and Lemar could be offloaded.
This may put Liverpool back into the picture.
The Reds really wanted Lemar in 2017 it got to the stage where Liverpool sent a medical team to France to put Lemar through his paces for a late move.
Monaco suddenly hiked up their asking price to £90million and Liverpool backed away, leaving Lemar with regrets.
Lemar was quoted as saying that he was disappointed when his move to Liverpool fell through and has regrets at not pushing for the deal.
Liverpool are now in the market for a midfielder and would seemingly like a cheaper option in January before pushing for Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Konrad Laimer has been linked but Lemar presents another interesting option in terms of a player coming to the end of his contract.
Liverpool have really liked the 27-year-old in the past and whilst it hasn’t worked for him in Spain, Lemar does still have quality in a more expansive style than Diego Simeone allows.
If Liverpool can get a heavy reduction on the £63million Atletico paid – we’re talking £10million or less here – then maybe the Reds could do a lot worse than finally bring Lemar to Anfield after all.
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