Liverpool should still chase Real Madrid over left-back sale
Published:Having been linked with enough left-backs to fill a mini-bus this season, the latest Liverpool target to have surfaced has publicly moved to distance himself from a move to Anfield in the summer.
Then again, trying to pinch Real Madrid’s first-choice left-back always had the look of trying to prise open a tin of beans with bare hands, despite Marcelo’s entering into the final 12 months of his current Bernabeu contract.
The left-sided Brazilian raider, whose Real side are the 4/11 favourites to prevail in their first-leg Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, has shaken off rumours of a proposed £25m summer bid from the Reds.
Marcelo, 25, said:”My best memory of football was when I signed for Real Madrid because I did not expect it.
“It was a spectacular moment. I’ve been here since I was 18, I’m from Madrid in practice and I am proud to be one of the captains of Real Madrid.”
Despite this apparent rebuff from Marcelo, though, Brendan Rodgers pursuit of a left-back must go on and he needn’t look further than the Bernabeu either.
While it’s unlikely Liverpool will persuade Gareth Bale to come back to England to play at full-back even if the Reds to end their title drought, Fabio Coentrao remains a very good alternative option.
The Portuguese, who may or may not have been linked to a move to Manchester United in the last two transfer windows, would make an excellent addition to the Anfield ranks.
Still only 26, Coentrao may have been kept on the fringes of the Madrid team this summer, but the first-choice Portugal left-back has both the pace and the technical ability to slot straight into the Rodgers mould.
It would probably be worth the English club making an offer before the World Cup too, as his stock price may rocket if Portugal excel in Brazil.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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