Liverpool are being touted to make a move for Rubin Kazan striker Sardar Azmoun in the near future. According to recent reports in the English media, the Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has sparked more speculation after being pictured standing beside a former target. The Merseysiders were heavily linked with the 23-year-old forward during the January transfer period last year. Azmoun has been dubbed as the ‘Iranian Messi’ and is currently plying his trade at Rubin Kazan in the top tier of Russian football.
Klopp reportedly was eager to bring Azmoun to Merseyside as a cover for Sadio Mane, who was on international duty with his nation Senegal at the African Cup of Nations during that time. However, the deal never materialised and now, the Iranian forward is being speculated to make a move to Liverpool again following his Instagram post where he was pictured alongside the German manager. He posted the photo along with the caption, ‘The best’.
Azmoun has struggled so far this season and has found the back of the net just once in 21 matches since his move to Russia so a potential transfer to Liverpool seems highly unlikely at this point of time.
Liverpool are currently occupying 3rd place in the Premier League table at the back of a hard-fought 2-0 victory away at Southampton in their last league outing. The Anfield-based club find themselves just above Chelsea, who are in fourth place with a point separating the two teams at the moment. However, Jurgen Klopp’s side are a staggering 18 points behind league leaders Manchester City. Hence, they are in need to bring in added reinforcements in the summer which can help them bridge the gap between themselves and the Manchester clubs in the coming years.
The potential addition of Azmoun could add more depth to Klopp’s squad going forward but with Dominic Solanke, Danny Ings and Roberto Firmino all likely to feature next season, it’s hard to see how the Iranian international will manage to get game-time at Anfield. His recent record has also been lacklustre, to say the least, so it’s hard to see Liverpool making a move for an unproven player in the summer.
For now, it seems like paper-talk and there has been no indication from the Reds to state otherwise. Only time will tell what lies ahead in the future of the Iran international and whether he ends up making a move to the Premier League in the near future.
