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Per Sport1’s Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool is stepping up their pursuit of Borussia Monchengladbach and German national team midfielder Florian Neuhaus, who Bayern Munich were pursuing for quite some time both last year and earlier this year. Per Plettenberg, a concrete offer for Neuhaus is expected to be lodged by Liverpool at some point after this summer’s European Championships conclude, while the discussions will continue to take place during the tournament.
Update #Neuhaus (due to many inquiries): #LFC is definitely a highly interesting option for the player. A concrete offer for him is expected. It's also up to Klopp. However, a decision on his future will be made after the Euros. @SPORT1
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 17, 2021
A final decision definitely will not be made until after the Euros, but Jurgen Klopp would also have to sign off on the transfer, which if the fee can be right for Liverpool, it’s highly unlikely that he would object.
It’s likely that Liverpool would have to pay at least €40m to acquire his services and even Neuhaus himself had recently said “I can very well imagine a move abroad.” He does not currently have a release clause in his ‘Gladbach contract as it’s past the date which it could've been triggered. His contract with Die Fohlen expires in June 2024.
Naturally, Klopp will certainly be looking for a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, who’s agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer as the Ligue 1 giants stepped in with a lucrative offer at the final hour, beating Barcelona to the finish line, so to speak. Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both also struggled greatly with injury problems last season, and likewise captain Jordan Henderson. Aside from their recent purchase of Thiago Alcantara from Bayern, Liverpool has shown a strategy in recent years of investing in younger, more promising talents, which Neuhaus fits the billing perfectly for.
Liverpool has also been linked with Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans and AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini, but Neuhaus, at this point, seems to be where the most concrete interest is. He could be a solid addition to Klopp’s midfield.
For Bayern, it’s unfortunate to have missed out on Neuhaus, but they were never prepared to pay as much as Neuhaus for him. At one point, Bayern was looking at the possibility of using Corentin Tolisso as potential leverage for Neuhaus, but he’s now on Juventus’ radar as Massimiliano Allegri is keen on signing the Frenchmen if he can’t realistically get Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo.
As far as incoming transfers, Bayern has already signed Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig and Omar Richards from Reading FC. In midfield, Mickael Cuisance will be returning from his loan spell at Marseille, so Bayern will need to decide what they want to do with him. Elsewhere in Bayern’s midfield, Javi Martinez will be leaving the club and combining that with Tolisso’s uncertain future, Bayern could very well be in the market for an affordable, central midfielder this summer.