Liverpool have been masters of the transfer market in recent years, which has played a huge part in their dominance under Jurgen Klopp.
They have waited for and landed top targets like Alisson and Virgil Van Dijk, shown faith relegated players in Andrew Robertson and Georginio Wijnaldum and got more than their money’s worth on Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
Michael Edwards has been Liverpool’s transfer guru, and he is now held up as one of the finest minds in the game when it comes to signings and even outgoings.
Edwards also made a big decision in 2018, as he chose to draw Liverpool away from the race to sign winger Thomas Lemar from Monaco.
The Independent reported that Liverpool had a huge £78million bid rejected for Lemar in 2017, and were considering a new move – only for the Liverpool Echo to state that Edwards was backing away.
He held talks with Monaco over a deal and viewed Lemar as a potential replacement for Philippe Coutinho, but the £90million price tag meant Liverpool looked elsewhere in the end.
Now, that decision looks very, very smart. Lemar has managed just six league appearances for Atletico this season, totalling only 151 minutes of action – 25 minutes an appearance, essentially.
His record for Atletico has been disappointing in general. In 81 games for Atletico, Lemar has managed just three goals and seven assists, proving to be a major flop for the Spanish side.
Whilst Liverpool go from strength to strength and Edwards appears to have landed another superb attacking signing in Diogo Jota, Lemar’s career is heading the wrong way – and Edwards looks to have made the right decision not paying £90million for the Frenchman.
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