Sure corners of the Liverpool fanbase will inevitably be left shaking their heads when listening to how shut Jeremy Doku was to pulling on the well-known purple shirt at Anfield.
In an interview relayed by soccer.london, the Belgian shared recollections of his tour at Anfield at 16 – even being gifted a ‘signed Salah shirt’ – a tour that had appeared destined to encourage a swap to Merseyside.
It wasn’t to be, as Sadio Mane provided some sage recommendation that ensured the participant would stay within the Belgian top-flight to additional hone his craft.
“My sixteenth birthday was arising, the age you may signal a professional contract,” mentioned Doku. “A variety of groups got here to see me – Liverpool was essentially the most concrete curiosity however there was additionally Arsenal and Chelsea,” the ahead mentioned.
“I went with my mum and pop, and we got a tour of the stadium, the coaching floor, even the varsity I might go to. They gave me a signed Salah shirt, and I met the gamers.
“I used to be in a position to focus on with Jurgen, Gerrard too, we checked out some video moments, and he spoke in regards to the growth. We met gamers, (Simon) Mignolet as a result of he was Belgian, Wijnaldum from Netherlands. I talked lots with Mane however we didn’t actually speak about soccer. We talked about every thing.
“He informed me that I used to be younger, that I nonetheless had time… he wasn’t attempting to persuade me or to say to me ‘come right here, you’ll succeed’. So I most well-liked to watch out.
“I knew what my trajectory needed to be. I knew what route I wanted to take and I knew at that second I wanted to remain at Anderlecht.”
Getting mad about one other impending Manchester Metropolis switch (in line with a publish on X from Sacha Tavolieri), at a time when the Sky Blues appear to be particularly concentrating on gamers Liverpool have held a historic curiosity in is just a little pointless after all – particularly when contemplating the kind of participant being acquired.
✅🇧🇪 DONE DEAL. ⚪️🔵 Jeremy Doku signed his 5-years contract this afternoon with #MCFC after finishing his medical exams efficiently within the morning.💰 Stade Rennais will get 65M€ as switch price. NO add-ons. NO sell-on clause. #ManCity pays #SRFC in a number of… pic.twitter.com/IdnRUJf6r7
— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) August 23, 2023
READ MORE: Journo says what he’s listening to from Liverpool suggests fourth switch shock is incoming
READ MORE: ‘Private phrases agreed’ – Fabrizio Romano drops attention-grabbing switch replace for Liverpool followers
In a 12 months’s time, we may have a necessity for a right-sided winger, after all, ought to hypothesis round Saudi curiosity in Mo Salah come to a head the next summer time.
Whether or not that eventuality will really be fulfilled nonetheless stays to be seen, and Liverpool have extra urgent points – particularly, the signing of a fourth, versatile midfielder to assist the division address the calls for of the 2023/24 marketing campaign.
It’s maybe gone slightly below the radar too that we may do with a few reinforcements within the backline within the altogether far-from-unlikely occasion that one among Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate will get injured.
The drop-off from both particular person is mind-boggling, by no means thoughts trusting one among Joe Gomez or Joel Matip to successfully perform the work of two gamers because the Frenchman presently does when Trent Alexander-Arnold goes marauding up the pitch.
There’s nonetheless time left to tick these containers, or not less than two out of three with the signing of the magical ‘multi-functional’ midfield operator and a left-side centre-half.
The place the necessity has been apparent earlier than, our endurance has been rewarded – let’s hope to see the identical once more this time round.
#Ep86 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️
