Liverpool have been given a bit of a boost in their chase for German international Julian Brandt. The Bayer Leverkusen winger has been a known target for the Reds of late but it was reported that he was moving to another club in the summer.
The Bild reported that Brandt had signed a deal with German powerhouse Bayern Munich. But the player’s father has come out and stated that deal hasn’t taken place yet.
“It’s a hoax,” he told Kicker, as reported by the Dailymail.
“Julian was never in a situation to have to make a decision. Accordingly he hasn’t decided.’
“There isn’t any trend nor any agreement. Julian will speak to Leverkusen about the season and his future in the summer.”
This will come as welcome relief not only to the Liverpool staff but also to the fans. There were fears that Brandt would be another example of a player deciding to not move to Anfield.
Mahmoud Dahoud was a player that Jurgen Klopp had targeted for the summer but the German midfielder decided to move to Borussia Dortmund to continue his development.
The Reds have needed to bring in wingers to the club despite having a great front three of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino.
But with Champions League football on the horizon, the Merseyside club need cover for their players next season. Mane and Coutinho missed various lengths of the season due to injury and absence and the Senegalese winger picked up an injury in the victory over Everton as well.
If Liverpool had cover for their best players, they could have been in the title race but with a number of poor performances at the start of the season, that expectation has gone down the drain.
Liverpool can only now look forward to a top four finish and they need to achieve that and get into the Champions League if they are to harbour the dreams of getting quality players into the side.
The summer will be a busy one for the Reds and Brandt wouldn’t be the only player joining the Merseyside club.