New Napoli midfielder Jesper Lindstrom has revealed that he turned down a move to Premier League giants Liverpool this summer in a bid to secure regular first team football, despite being a boyhood Reds fan.
Jurgen Klopp’s side underwent a massive midfield overhaul across the summer transfer window, letting Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho all leave the club.
All of their summer focus was on adding more midfielders to their ranks, and they eventually signed all of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch in deals totalling over £150m, though they missed out on high-profile pair Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, both of whom joined Chelsea.
They were, however, keen to add another in the form of Lindstrom, who was then at Eintracht Frankfurt and who was believed to have caught the eye of Newcastle and Arsenal as well as the Anfield outfit.
However, he turned down the opportunity to move to the Premier League in favour of a switch to Italian champions Napoli, and has revealed that a move to his boyhood club was a non-starter because he was worried about a potential lack of game time at Anfield.
“Liverpool wanted me, I am a Liverpool fan so it would’ve been a madly fascinating experience… but would it have been an intelligent move?”, he explained.
Still just 23-years-old, Lindstrom can play either as an attacking midfielder or on either side of attack, and was likely to feature prominently among potential replacements for Mohamed Salah, who has been strongly linked with a move away from Anfield amid interest from Saudi side Al-Ittihad.
He may remain a target for Klopp’s side, and his affiliation to the club could make a deal easier, but success in Naples will only see his price tag skyrocket.
