Weston McKennie’s move to Hertha Berlin is off as the Liverpool and Southampton target waits for a dream move to the Premier League instead, according to Kicker.
While Jurgen Klopp has made it clear that mega-money signings will be at a premium this summer, ruling out a Timo Werner or a Kai Havertz let alone a Kylian Mbappe or a Jadon Sancho, the Anfield boss could maybe make an exception when it comes to the Bundesliga’s Mr Versatile.
McKennie, after all, is pretty much the epitome of a modern-day Liverpool signing – young, hungry, adaptable and, most importantly, relatively cheap in relation to his vast potential.
Schalke have been hit harder than most by an ongoing financial crisis.
And, after imposing a salary cap at the Veltins Arena as they look to deal with a shortage of cash, they would undoubtedly benefit from the £20 million windfall that comes with selling their prized asset.
Kicker claims that McKennie believes the time is right to leave the perennial underachievers of German football after Schalke failed to win any of their final 16 games of the Bundesliga season.
And the American international is hardly short of offers.
The report adds that, alongside Liverpool, a Southampton side who have lost captain and star midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are in the market for reinforcements themselves with McKennie lined up as the Dane’s successor.
And, such is his desire to join close friend Christian Pulisic on English shores, McKennie has turned down an offer to an ambitious, big-spending Hertha Berlin outfit.
“(McKennie) is an outstanding talent,” Schalke boss Wagner told Fox recently, via the Bundesliga website.
“In the No.6 or No.8 position he has the mentality, a real working mentality that you need. And he’s brave on the ball as well.”
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