Salah shows LFC no need to worry over Werner snub
Liverpool fans have been stung by the disappointment of missing out on Timo Werner, with the RB Leipzig striker making a switch to Chelsea over Anfield.
It seems Liverpool were unwilling to pay the 24-year-old’s £53m asking price in the current financial climate, but could the snub prove to be another example of their smart transfer decision-making?
During Jürgen Klopp ’s tenure as Reds manager there have been a handful of transfer targets who got fans’ pulses racing before ultimately going elsewhere.
Two of the most high-profile pursuits were for Brazilian Alex Teixeira, once of Shakhtar Donetsk, and Thomas Lemar, who at the time of Liverpool’s interest was an AS Monaco player.
Teixeira was subject to a bid in the region of £25m from Liverpool back in 2016, but ended up swapping Ukraine for Jiangsu Suning in China for a fee almost double the Reds’ offer.
At the time, there was widespread disappointment. Liverpool were not the footballing powerhouse they are today and a move for Teixeira would have undoubtedly bolstered their attacking ranks.
In his final half-season at Shakhtar, Teixeira scored 26 goals and on 10 occasions scored twice in the same game. There are parallels to Timo Werner’s current scoring record.
According to WhoScored.com, the RB Leipzig man has been directly involved in 33 Bundesliga goals this season – 25 goals and eight assists in 31 matches.
Nevertheless, the club’s judgement in 2016 ultimately paid off. While Teixeira completed a £45m move to the Chinese Super League, Liverpool added Mohamed Salah to their ranks 18 months later.
Similarly, Liverpool were keen on Thomas Lemar, who had excelled in Monaco’s usurping of Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 title in 2017.
Sporting Director Michael Edwards held discussions with the principality club but was unable to strike a deal for the young Frenchman.
At the time, Lemar was spoken of in the same breath as Kylian Mbappé for his influence on Monaco’s title charge, so missing out was understandably discouraging for the Reds.
He scored nine goals and had 10 assists during the 2016-17 Ligue 1 campaign, but his price tag was regarded as too high for what Liverpool would be getting. The club’s reluctance to make a knee-jerk signing once again paid dividends.
The following season, Lemar’s influence waned as the Monaco team was picked apart by the European elite. Still, Atlético Madrid deemed him worthy of spending £63m in the summer of 2018 – a move which looks increasingly ill-informed.
This season, Lemar has made 25 outings for Los Rojiblancos in all competitions and has failed to score or assist.
This in part comes down to the style of play employed by Atletico coach Diego Simeone and that many of Lemar’s appearances are from the bench, but needless to…