Surprise as Liverpool pushed forward for €25m midfielder – Player’s season ‘far from desirable’

On Monday, an unexpected report from the Turkish media claimed that Liverpool are interested in Benfica midfielder Orkun Kökçü.

It was said that Arne Slot, who worked with the player at Feyenoord, wants him at Anfield as well, even though the 23-year-old hasn’t exactly impressed in Portugal recently.

As the Portuguese media today covers that story, outlets O Jogo and Record share their surprise that Liverpool are linked to Kökçü.

None of the outlets claim to have any information about that chase. And even though they do not dismiss the rumour, they point out that the midfielder has had ups and downs in his first year at Benfica.

Record writes that while being the club’s most expensive signing ever, the midfielder had an ‘uneven’ season. Meanwhile, O Jogo says his debut year ‘was far from desirable’.

That’s why it’s so strange to see Liverpool linked to him right now. Kökçü did well enough with Slot at Feyenoord to convince Benfica to pay a record fee for him, but we wonder if that would be enough to take him to Anfield this summer.