When Italy take on Austria this evening, there is one player that Liverpool fans should be keeping a keen eye on, Christoph Baumgartner.
The young midfielder is the man who put his side into the latter stages of the competition when he tapped in David Alaba’s cross to secure a 1-0 win against Ukraine.
That goal was his fourth in 13 international games but the biggest by far and one that has led him to Wembley and the ‘shop window’ as far as he’s concerned.
That’s according to Kicker, who say tonight’s game has a ‘personal touch’ for Baumgartner after recent links to the Premier League, namely Liverpool.
The 21-year-old was recently touted as a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, with Jurgen Klopp said to be a big fan of what the Hoffenheim man can do.
The Euros is his perfect chance to shine, then, and where better to ‘present himself’ than Wembley against arguably the best team of the tournament so far?
That’s certainly what the ‘shooting star from Hoffenheim’ is hoping for, insisting he and his teammates are ready for battle and warning; “We have now made history. But the story is not over yet. The Italians will have to fight with us.”
A win, even a good performance, could be enough to tempt Liverpool, who the newspaper say have been ‘interested’ recently.
Either way, it’s Baumgartner’s time to shine, and he seems keen to take advantage of it, with the Reds already hovering in the background.
