Liverpool have reportedly failed in a bid to hijack Brighton‘s switch for Feyenoord midfielder Mats Wieffer.
Having performed 42 occasions for Arne Slot final season, Wieffer has been a reputation loosely linked to the Reds and a brand new report from the Netherlands seems to have confirmed Liverpool’s curiosity.
Nevertheless, any plans Slot might need needed to convey his ex-player to Merseyside have now been scuppered, with Brighton broadly reported to have agreed an preliminary £25 million deal for the 24-year-old.
De Telegraaf‘s Marcel van der Kraan wrote: “In accordance with well-informed sources at Brighton, Feyenoord’s normal supervisor Dennis te Kloese is at present in England to finalise the deal.
“In Liverpool, it’s reported that Slot, as Wieffer’s former coach, gave the inexperienced mild to convey him in however the brand new sporting director Richard Hughes acted too late.”
Regardless of a deal seemingly being agreed by Brighton, the journalist experiences that “Liverpool are nonetheless making determined makes an attempt to herald Mats Wieffer.”
It appears unusual for Liverpool to make a last-gasp effort to signal the defensive midfielder, given the sporting director and Co. have had loads of time to make their transfer within the final month.
If the Reds needed him ‘desperately’, then they might absolutely have acted sooner. Liverpool would virtually definitely be Wieffer’s most popular vacation spot over Brighton.
Who’s Mats Wieffer?
With 9 Netherlands caps to his identify, Wieffer is extremely rated within the Eredivisie however isn’t thought-about by all to be a participant who can attain the highest of world soccer.
Dutch soccer journalist Michael Statham defined to This Is Anfield how the Dutchman was utilized by Slot at Feyenoord.
“Mats Wieffer is a midfielder however after they’re chasing a sport, he’ll drop in at centre-back and so they’ll put an additional attacking participant on,” Statham mentioned.
“Wieffer has accomplished fairly properly this season, however I don’t know the way a lot greater his ceiling is.”
Regardless of being just below six ft tall, the No. 6 is exceptionally robust aerially compared to different midfielders.
Throughout the final yr, he ranks within the high one p.c of comparable gamers in Europe’s high 5 leagues, with 3.13 aerial duels received per 90 minutes in response to FBRef.
This, nonetheless, isn’t significantly what Liverpool require in a holding midfielder.
Going ahead, they want a cell participant with loads of capability on the ball, who additionally possesses a knack for sniffing out harmful runners.
