It looks like Liverpool missed a huge opportunity to land a very promising prospect this summer.
Christian Falk reported that the Merseysiders held talks with Brajan Gruda’s entourage, although they were unable to progress the talks to the point of a transfer.
Brighton & Hove Albion, on the other hand, went for the Germany Under-21 international in a £25m deal.
“Another English club also knocked on the door this summer – it was Liverpool.” the Bundesliga reporter wrote in his Fact files column for Caught offside.
“I heard that Liverpool were interested in him and maybe they made a mistake not to be specific with this one. This is also the case with Bayern Munich, of course! In the end, they all could not give him guarantees for this position , but they tried. They saw Gruda’s great talent.
“Liverpool were the only club in the Big Six in England who were talking to the management, but in the middle class of clubs in England there were many teams who were interested in him. If Liverpool had been specific about Gruda, it would have been a big challenge for Brighton to sign him.
The 20-year-old, who signed a four-year deal with the Seagulls, scored seven goals in 28 Bundesliga appearances as Mainz finished 13th in the German top flight last season.
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Did Liverpool miss a trick not to sign Gruda?
There is certainly an argument to be made about Liverpool’s failure to pursue Gruda to the finish line this summer.
“Failure” can perhaps be considered too harsh a judgement, of course, in light of the signing of an experienced and quality talent in Federico Chiesa who had fallen out of favor at Juventus.
However, £25m for a talent as promising as the young German could very well be overshadowed by his ultimate value if his huge potential is fulfilled.
As in lefties right-back (a particularly rare trait), one has to wonder why the Reds didn’t move heaven and earth to secure Mo Salah’s potential successor.
Are there other options in world football that can claim to have a similar level of quality and potential, a low selling price and characteristics that would allow them to be a suitable support for the Egypt international?
Liverpool, one might reasonably suspect, may well come to regret their decision here.
