Real Madrid has entered the race for Liverpool midfielder, Emre Can. The Galacticos has now joined Juventus in pursuit of the German’s services. A January move looks likely with the 23-year-old’s contract with the Reds running out in the summer. Can scored the opener against Brighton & Hove Albion in Liverpool’s trip to the Amex stadium. He was deployed as a makeshift centre-back in the match by Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp and dazzled once again when he scored the opener with a powerful header from a corner. The German international has impressed with his performances and versatility this season and has caught the eye of some top European clubs.
Jurgen Klopp has already expressed his desire to retain the services of the German midfielder at Anfield, but any talks over a new deal have come to a standstill. This development has led towards a whole host of top clubs which include Real Madrid, Juventus and Can’s former club, Bayern Munich monitoring his current situation at Liverpool.
However, recent reports in Italy have claimed that Juventus remain front-runners for his signature when the winter transfer window commences in January. The Turin club are reluctant to wait until the summer and might want to fend off competition by persuading Liverpool to sell for a cut-price fee next month. It is understood that Liverpool would refuse to do business unless a bid is tabled in the region of £15-20m. Jurgen Klopp might reject the offer even then with the German manager determined to keep hold of his star players.
In a recent interview addressing the situation, Klopp said: “We want to keep him. We have to be as attractive as possible as a club.”
Emre Can signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2014 from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee in the region of £10m. Since then, he has made 148 appearances for the Reds in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and making 9 assists in the process. The German international has been solid in this campaign for Jurgen Klopp’s high scoring Reds and has featured in 19 games for Liverpool this season.
Real Madrid are struggling in La Liga at the moment and has slipped down to fourth place in the league standings and are eight points off leaders, Barcelona. Ahead of a crucial second half of their campaign, Los Blancos’ boss Zinedine Zidane will be looking to recruit wisely in January or may reassess his options in the summer. The Spanish club might be in for a transitional period and securing the likes of Emre Can might go a long way towards helping them achieve sustained success over a prolonged period of time.
It remains to be seen whether they can catch up with Juventus in pursuit of the talented Liverpool midfielder.
