Liverpool were ‘quite close’ to securing a deal for Feyenoord’s Orkun Kökçü before his eventual move to Benfica.
That’s according to 1908.nl, who say the Reds had been close to convincing the midfielder to move to Anfield earlier this summer.
Kökçü has been heavily linked with a move away from Feyenoord for the past few years, having been the star of the show for the Dutch side for several years, including this season in their title success under Arne Slot.
Feyenoord had managed to keep hold of him each year, but he’s finally departed this summer, with Portuguese Benfica tempting him away from De Kuip.
It seems, though, he could have ended up in the Premier League if Liverpool had gotten their own way.
1908 report that the Reds were ‘quite close’ to securing a deal for Kökçü, but the player instead elected to head to Portugal.
According to their information they had asked the midfielder ‘not to sign with Benfica’ earlier this month and his management set a deadline for them to submit a bid to Feyenoord.
That bid failed to materialise, disappointing intermediaries such as Fulco van Kooperen, who had been working on the potential deal for company Muy Manero.
The player then put Liverpool’s interest to one side and made a quick decision to join Benfica, seeing them as the perfect intermediary step in his career before a potential big move in future.
