KLOPP SWINGS AXE AT ANFIELD
Liverpool set to ditch 10 players with Karius and Ings heading exodus
LORIS Karius is considering his Anfield future as Liverpool prepare to purge their squad with the aim of generating £100million (RM534 million) before the transfer window closes.
The German goalkeeper, whose form has disintegrated during pre-season, has been rattled by the world record signing of Alisson Becker and is aware he will be given hardly any opportunities to play next season. Liverpool have not had any offers for Karius but a move away could be for the best.
“Of course that’s not perfect for me, but I cannot say much more about that either,” said Karius after he making a mistake in Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
“I do not know that (whether he will leave before the deadline); I cannot say what I’m doing right now, there’s still some time left.”
It has been a busy window for Liverpool in terms of new arrivals but the onus has now switched to players leaving. There could be as many as 10 departures — headed by Danny Ings — before the end of next month, as Liverpool have until August 31 to do business with European clubs.
Ings wants to move to resurrect his career and the £20millionrated striker, who was capped by England before he ruptured his cruciate ligament in October 2015, has attracted interest from Leicester, Newcastle, West Ham, Southampton and Crystal Palace.
Divock Origi, the Belgium striker, will also be also be allowed to leave with Valencia keen. Liverpool would look to command a fee in the region of £27million for Origi, who spent last season on loan at Wolfsburg.
Should Karius remain on Merseyside, Simon Mignolet will be the keeper to leave. The Belgium international is on holiday, having been to the World Cup. Newly-promoted Fulham have inquired but feel the fee demanded is too high.
Other players who will move on include Lazar Markovic. He is in the last 12 months of his contract but Liverpool want to recoup in the region of £7million for the winger, who is wanted by Anderlecht, Leganes and Getafe as well as teams in Turkey and Greece, while Pedro Chirivella, the Spanish midfielder, is a target for Sporting Lisbon.
Marko Grujic — the young Serbia international who was Klopp’s first signing in January 2016 — spent last season on loan at Cardiff but he is wanted by Lazio. Liverpool hold the midfielder in high regard and would only consider an offer of more than £20million.
Ben Woodburn and Sheyi Ojo, meanwhile, will be allowed to move on loan to further their development. Woodburn is wanted by Sheffield United and Norwich, while Ojo has a raft of opportunities.