Cast your mind back to January’s deadline day. Liverpool were scrambling for a new centre-back and decided to bring in Ozan Kabak, but it very nearly didn’t end up that way.
Indeed, while the Kabak deal was done in the end, he wasn’t the only defender they went for on deadline day.
The Reds also tried to sign David Carmo from Braga, but perhaps the most interesting defender they moves for was Edmond Tapsoba.
The Bayer Leverkusen man was reportedly on the Reds’ radar in January, but they shied away from the deal after they were quoted a €50m (£44m) fee for the Burkina Faso international.
Understandably at the time, Liverpool instead pushed forward with a move for Kabak on a six-month loan, but in hindsight that was the wrong decision.
Kabak was sent back to Schalke once his loan ended, with Liverpool opting against activating their £18m option to buy the Turkish centre-back, while Tapsoba has gone from strength to strength at Bayer Leverkusen.
According to Fabrizio Romano this week, Leverkusen now value Tapsoba at a minimum of €70m (£60m) just six months after Liverpool enquired about him, and that’s a real kick in the teeth for the Reds.
In just six months, Tapsoba’s valuation has gone up by at least £16m, and at the age of just 22, the sky is the limit for this young defender.
Liverpool opted to take the cheaper option of Kabak in January, but with Tapsoba being available at what would now seem to be a bargain fee, choosing the Schalke man over the Bayer Leverkusen ace looks to be a regrettable decision.
Michael Edwards is usually the king of making great deals, but it seems as though he missed out on a bit of a bargain with Tapsoba in January after Romano said that he’s already worth £16m more than Liverpool could have signed him for.
At the age of 22, it’s not insane to suggest that Tapsoba’s stock will continue to rise and rise, and if it does, Liverpool may regret not signing him in January for £44m for years to come.
Instead, Liverpool opted to pursue Kabak, and that seems to be a rather poor decision six months down the line.
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