Emre Can’s contract saga is getting murkier and stranger by the day. The German international has so far refused to sign an extension with us and he will become a free agent at the end of the season.

The former Bayer Leverkusen man was a player that Juventus wanted in the summer but they could not finalise a deal with Liverpool and now their CEO Giuseppe Marotta has claimed that they will not be coming back to sign any player in the winter window.

As quoted by Goal, the Italian said:

“We will not sign anybody in January. We are currently achieving our objectives in the Champions League, where we have a hard group.”

While it is a boost that gives us a lot more time to get the contract talks done with Can, it also could be a big loss for us if he does not sign a new deal and leaves us for free. After spending so much time in developing a player, letting him leave on a free transfer would be a slap on our faces.

Can, for his part, has not really done much to endear the fans to his side this season and apart from a couple of good performances in Europe, we are still to see the player that turned up the style in the final quarter of last season.

We might be getting Naby Keita next summer but losing Can and getting Keita in is a bit of a half glass full situation. Can has the talent to become one of the best in the world but he just does not seem to be playing to his potential or even looking to improve at the moment.

His stubbornness to sign a new contract without a release clause might just see him leave us for free and it is a bit of a surprise as to why Jurgen Klopp is playing him when we have the likes of Marko Grujic sitting on the bench and hoping for a shot in the first-team.

If we are clear that Can is not going to sign a new contract, he should be left on the bench and we should look to play others in the team. We took a hard stance with Philippe Coutinho last summer and it could be time for us to do something similar with Can.

https://youtu.be/iIOuolFyotY