Liverpool have lost the race to sign Mahmoud Dahoud, as Borussia Dortmund have officially announced the capture of Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder on a 5-year contract running until summer of 2022.
It was earlier reported by Bild (h/t Sport Witness) that Jurgen Klopp had submitted a bid for Dahoud in an attempt to try and divert the player’s attention to Liverpool, but it looks like it went in vain as Dortmund seem to have signed the player.
Dahoud had a buyout clause somewhere over €10m, but there were also clauses which were to be added on top of that. Liverpool seem to have simply ignored the clause situation and put a €25m offer on the table.
It was also claimed that Dahoud was offered a bonus of €7.5m but the reports did not give a clear indication about the numbers regarding the wages that were offered by Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.
However, the battle between Dortmund and Liverpool seems to be over now, with the player joining the 8-time German champions on a long-term deal.
Liverpool have had problems in central midfield, with Emre Can struggling for form. Since they play a 4-3-3 formation with 3 central midfielders, they are also short on numbers. The current scenario, where Wijnaldum and Henderson are unavailable for this weekend shows their struggle as they are prepared to play Lucas Leiva in the midfield.
Buying a good central midfielder is a priority for Jurgen Klopp and a move for Mahmoud Dahoud made sense as there was an opportunity to sign the player up.
Dahoud would surely have reveled under Klopp as the style of play at Anfield would have suited him very well. However, it looks like Klopp might have to turn his attention elsewhere to solve his central midfield crisis and compete strongly next season.