“Can’t say no” – Journalist names price at which Liverpool could snap up ‘exceptional’ attacker
A Bundesliga expert has named the amount at which Liverpool might be able to snap up a forward from Germany’s top flight in whom they’re reportedly interested.
Earlier this week, CaughtOffside reported that the Reds were set to check on the availability of RB Leipzig attacker Xavi Simons, whose asking price had been slashed from €100m (£83.7m) amid a recognition that they don’t anticipate keeping him for the long-term.
How much could Simons cost Liverpool to sign?
In his latest Fact Files column for the Daily Briefing, Christian Falk didn’t mention the Premier League leaders explicitly in an update about the 21-year-old, although he has indicated that the Netherlands international could be sold if the right offer is made for him.
The journalist outlined: “Leipzig are trying to keep Xavi Simons at the club. It’s a different situation to Sesko where the Slovenian has a promise from the club that if there’s enough money on the table, he can leave.
“In the case of Simons, there’s also a gentleman’s agreement, but they are still trying to keep him given he only recently signed for Leipzig. They bought him for €50m with add-ons to take this to €80m, but in the summer they won’t have paid all of these add-ons, so they want to make some money from this.
“It’s clear any offer needs to be over €50m – €60m wouldn’t be enough, but if it gets to €70m, they can’t say no to Xavi if he wants to make the next step to the Premier League. Everyone knows that he’s going to make this step but it’s not clear if he makes the move this summer or the next.
“There has to be a club very concrete on him. Manchester City like him, but United were, in the past, always a concrete option. It’s not so easy with money at the moment at United of course, so we have to see if there’s a club around willing to pay €70m. Simons is playing well but he’s not playing at a world-class level at the moment, so we have to see.”
Could Liverpool utilise familiar Leipzig connection once again?
The various reports on Simons in recent days suggest that his asking price has tumbled from €100m to €70m (£59m), which could certainly make him more attractive to prospective suitors.
Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund has lauded the Dutchman as ‘an exceptional player’ who has the requisite ‘mentality’ to enjoy ‘a really good career at the highest level’ (bulinews.com), while Leipzig manager Marco Rose has described the 21-year-old as a ‘difference maker‘.
Liverpool have already established a positive working relationship with the Bundesliga club, from whom they’ve signed Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai in recent years, while Fabio Carvalho had an (admittedly unhappy) loan spell at the Red Bull Arena when he was on the books at Anfield.
The question for Richard Hughes and the LFC recruitment team is where Simons falls in on their list of priorities. As indicated by James Pearce earlier this week, the Reds’ summer transfer budget could hinge largely on whether the contracts of Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk are renewed, and decisions must be taken on which positions are in greatest need of addressing.
Falk’s update offers a strong clue as to how much the Merseysiders would need to pay if they’re to land the Netherlands attacker. It’s then a question of whether FSG are willing to fund such a deal, and how seriously they want to pursue it.
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