These days, if Liverpool want a player, they identify him, they scout him, then they send Michael Edwards to go and get the deal done, and he returns with the player (invariably at a brilliant price.) However, it’s not always been like this. There was a time when Liverpool would constantly miss out on targets, either through deals that got messed up, or players choosing to move elsewhere. Here are 21 players Liverpool wanted that they missed out on – were they dodged bullets or ones that got away?
Gareth Bale (Summer 2006)
Liverpool’s scouts identified 16-year-old Gareth Bale as the most impressive player in a youth match and proposed to Southampton a swap deal with Darren Potter, a midfielder who only ever made 17 appearances for the club. Saints asked for a modest sum of cash as well as Potter, which Liverpool felt was unreasonable. Bale joined Tottenham the next year and enjoyed some unbelievable times there, including winning 2012-13 PFA Player of the Year. He then broke the world transfer record in 2013 when joining Real Madrid, where he has scored over 100 goals, including three in Champions League finals and one in a Copa Del Rey final. Potter never started a league game for Liverpool and now plays for Tranmere.
Verdict: One that got away
Dani Alves (Summer 2006)
Source: fcbarcelona.com
Liverpool had wrapped up a deal to sign right-back Alves from Sevilla for just £8m in 2006. However, the Reds were a little strapped for cash, despite winning the Champions League, Super Cup and FA Cup in the preceding 12 months, and Rafael Benitez was told that it was either Alves or a new striker – not both. Benitez reluctantly accepted the situation and pressed ahead with the signing of Dirk Kuyt and the Alves deal was shelved. The Brazilian went on to become one of the outstanding right-backs of the generation, winning six La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues.
Verdict: One that got away
Gabriel Heinze (Summer 2007)
A bitter and unpleasant transfer saga, Liverpool were looking for John Arne Riise’s long-term replacement and in Manchester United’s Gabriel Heinze, were looking to acquire one of the best left-backs in the world. Heinze was available to any club willing to pay his £6.8m buyout clause – which Rafael Benitez saw as a no-brainer. The deal was so far down the line that Liverpool even had sorted out accommodation for the Argentinian but Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t stand the idea of selling the player to Liverpool and changed the clause so that it was available to every club other than Liverpool. The case went to a tribunal which United remarkably won. Heinze ended up going to Real Madrid, though never recaptured his best form for United.
Verdict: Somewhere in the middle
Gareth Barry (Summer 2008 and 2009)
Source: avfc.com
Famously, Liverpool were very keen on Gareth Barry for two successive summers. Rafael Benitez wanted to add some experience and quality to his midfield, and the Englishman, who holds the record for most Premier League appearances, was his man. Benitez was willing to part with Xabi Alonso in order to get Barry though, which would’ve been a terrible mistake to lose the Spaniard. A year later, Benitez went back in for Barry after Alonso left to Real Madrid, but Barry ended up choosing Manchester City over Liverpool, despite Steven Gerrard personally calling his England team-mate to try and persuade him the other way.
Verdict: Somewhere in the middle
Jermain Defoe (January 2012)
There were links to Defoe on Deadline Day in January 2012. With Luis Suarez suspended and Andy Carroll struggling for goals, the idea was that Defoe would help ease the burden and add another option. He stayed at Tottenham before moving to Sunderland – via the MLS – where he was lethal. Adding another striker wasn’t really what Liverpool needed at the time though, it was a creative midfielder.
Verdict: Somewhere in the middle
Gaston Ramirez (Summer 2012)
Liverpool went after Uruguayan attacker Gaston Ramirez in Brendan Rodgers’ first summer at the club and had made an offer to Bologna. He ended up signing for Southampton, where he barely got going. He had a poor spell at Hull City too and though he did better at Middlesbrough, this wouldn’t have been a good signing.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Clint Dempsey (Summer 2012)
Deadline Day in August 2012 – Liverpool were doing everything to secure the services of USA attacker Dempsey, who had enjoyed six successful seasons at Fulham. A goalscoring menace, Brendan Rodgers was so desperate to get Dempsey that he even offered Jordan Henderson as part of the deal. Henderson turned it down and the deal broke down, Dempsey instead moving to Tottenham. He was solid there and could’ve been a useful signing, but not at the expense of Henderson. The Fulham player Liverpool really should have targeted that summer was Mousa Dembele.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Summer 2013)
Liverpool turned to Shakhtar winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan to aid Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez in the goalscoring department. The Reds were willing to pay around £20m for the Armenian but the move broke down and he joined Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund. He did well in Germany and scored against Liverpool in the famous 4-3 comeback in 2016. That summer, he joined Manchester United. He had moments but they were few and far between, while he was a disaster at Arsenal – it’s clear the Premier League wasn’t for him.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Diego Costa (Summer 2013)
With rumours circulating about Luis Suarez’s future, Liverpool lodged a £21.8m bid for Atletico Madrid striker Costa. Costa wanted to move to Chelsea though, and their boss Jose Mourinho convinced Costa to stay in Madrid for another year, in the knowledge that Chelsea would sign the hitman a year later. He led Chelsea to two Premier League crowns in three years and has been a top-class striker throughout his career.
Verdict: One that got away
Willian (Summer 2013)
Liverpool – and Tottenham – felt they had signed Anzhi winger Willian in 2013, before he moved to Chelsea. This was a major, major dodged bullet. Many people have been hoodwinked into believing Willian is a good player because he has been at a top team for a long time – do not be one of those people. In 329 games for Chelsea, he has a paltry return of 59 goals, only 33 of those in 226 Premier League matches. Only once has he scored more than six goals in a Premier League season, a breathtaking eight strikes in 2016/17 (five times he has failed to hit the heights of six goals for the season). A player with a frightening lack of technical ability and genuinely appalling decision-making, this would have been a diabolical signing for Liverpool. It’s staggering that he’s lasted so long at Chelsea. An extraordinarily bad footballer who wouldn’t look out of place in the Dog and Duck Under 11s. I’d rather have Mario Balotelli and Lazar Markovic back. Serious.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Shay Given (Summer 2013)
The Irish goalkeeper revealed in his autobiography how he was destined to join Liverpool in 2013 to compete with Simon Mignolet for the number one spot. He was at Aston Villa at the time and expressed regret that the deal didn’t go through, and confusion as to why. He would definitely have been a good backup to Mignolet, though was 37 at the time so it would have been a short-term move.
Verdict: Somewhere in the middle
Yehven Konoplyanka (January 2014)
Konoplyanka was a tricky Ukranian winger who had scored against England in the World Cup qualifiers. Liverpool tried to sign him on Deadline Day in January 2014 and triggered his release clause of £15m. However, the Dnipro chairman wouldn’t sign the paperwork and the move broke down. Since, he has played for Sevilla, Schalke and Shakhtar Donetsk, without any degree of success.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Loic Remy (Summer 2014)
Remy had enjoyed very fruitful spells in England at QPR and Newcastle, scoring 20 goals in 40 games. Signing Remy would help to partially fill the void left by Luis Suarez and it looked for all money that the deal was done, but the Frenchman’s medical surprisingly raised concerns about a heart condition. Liverpool pulled out of the deal and Remy ended up signing for Chelsea, where he spent two years. I think Remy might have been a decent backup and bagged a few goals here and there, but his best days were at QPR and Newcastle.
Verdict: Somewhere in the middle
Alexis Sanchez (Summer 2014)
Following Luis Suarez’s departure, Brendan Rodgers was frantically trying to replace the Uruguayan’s goals and world-class ability. It looked like he could do so with the signing of Barcelona’s wide attacker Alexis Sanchez. While there is a feeling that the Chilean preferred the idea of living in London, a recent piece by James Pearce implied that Sanchez was actually unconvinced of Liverpool’s interest in him, with Arsene Wenger visiting him numerous times in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup to persuade him to join Arsenal, where he became one of the best players in the Premier League. Sanchez would have been a suitable replacement for Suarez and in his pomp, would have suited Jurgen Klopp’s football to the ground. Instead we got Mario Balotelli, Lazar Markovic, Rickie Lambert and kept Fabio Borini.
Verdict: The One that got away
Dele Alli (Summer 2014 and January 2015)
Source: mkdons.com
Liverpool had scouted the MK Dons starlet for years and were desperate to sign him, even giving him a guided tour of Melwood. One tale is that Rodgers was asleep and missed Alli’s call to inform the manager that he wanted to join, others say that he felt unconvinced that he would have the same path to the first team that he would at Tottenham, while another story is that the move broke down over a dispute among the transfer committee of the player’s worth. Alli ended up signing for Tottenham and rapidly became one of English football’s superstars, hitting 62 goals for Spurs before turning 24 this month. A wonderful player who Liverpool must regret missing out on.
Verdict: One that got away
Alex Teixeira (January 2016)
Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeira was the subject of concrete interest from Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp’s first window. The Reds lodged a £24m bid which was rejected by his club, Shakhtar Donetsk. Teixeira went public with his desire to join Liverpool, but the Ukranians were holding out for more, which the Reds were not prepared to pay. He ended up moving to Jiangsu Suning, despite the player himself admitting he wanted to stay in Europe. He has a respectable scoring record at the Chinese Super League club, but the fact that he hasn’t returned to Europe, despite insisting that was his end goal, is telling.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Mario Gotze (Summer 2016)
All the craze in Jurgen Klopp’s first summer transfer window was around reuniting with Mario Gotze, a key part of his Borussia Dortmund team. Gotze had also famously scored the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup Final but it was clear that the attacking midfielder, now at Bayern Munich, was ready to leave the Bundesliga champions. There was much disappointment among Liverpool fans when it became clear that Gotze would rather rejoin Dortmund than Klopp, but the failure to secure Gotze led to the signing of Sadio Mane, who has been absolutely stunning in his first four seasons at Liverpool, whereas Gotze has struggled to properly get going since returning to Dortmund.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Piotr Zielinski (Summer 2016)
Zielinski was targeted in Jurgen Klopp’s first summer at the club. Liverpool were keen on the Polish international, who was plying his trade at Udinese at the time, and lodged a bid of around £12m. Eventually, Zielinski moved to Napoli where he has been a mainstay of the team for the last four seasons. Certainly a good player, though upon learning that they would not be getting him, Liverpool went after Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum, who has been similarly important for the Reds since.
Verdict: Somewhere in the middle
Nabil Fekir (Summer 2018)
Source: ol.fr
It’s hard to believe that it’s nearly two years since Liverpool’s move for Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir broke down after the Frenchman’s medical raised some concerns for the Reds. Fekir had enjoyed a sensational 2017/18, registering 31 goals and assists in 40 games, though didn’t get close to that last season after failing to get his Anfield move. Now at Real Betis, he has been solid for the Spanish team and Liverpool perhaps still lack a creative midfielder. It would have been a major risk to sign him though.
Verdict: Somewhere in the middle
Jorginho (Summer 2018)
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City were all very keen on Napoli’s precious Italian midfielder and it ended up being Maurizio Sarri who linked up with his former player at Stamford Bridge. Despite a very unimpressive first season, he has done much better this campaign and shown himself to be an excellent pass-master. That summer though, Liverpool acquired the services of Fabinho, who is a better fit for what Liverpool’s defensive midfielder is there to do, and therefore was a better signing.
Verdict: Dodged bullet
Nicolas Pepe (Summer 2019)
There was plenty of reported interest from Liverpool in the Lille forward to supplement Jurgen Klopp’s attacking options last summer, but the Ivorian ended up signing for Arsenal. After a poor start to life in London, he has picked up recently and shown some signs of what made the Gunners spend £72m on the winger. He is starting to look like a neat player but at that price it would have been a poor piece of business for what would have been a backup.
Verdict: Dodged bullet – for now
Daniel Daykin
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Daniel (@daykind19)