Liverpool reopen Hector files as need for left-back grows dire
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Some transfer rumours persist for the entire length of the summer and one such stubborn piece of speculation surrounds Liverpool’s desire to sign Koln left-back Jonas Hector.
Conjecture over the potential move for the 26-year-old defender reached its previous peak during the European Championships in June.
Hector was an ever-present in an extremely sturdy Germany defence that only shipped a single goal en-route to the semi-finals before a 2-0 defeat to France and, having performed so accomplishedly for Die Mannschaft, clamour grew for compatriot Jurgen Klopp to sign him.
A decisive move on Liverpool’s behalf never materialised, but with less than two weeks to go until the Premier League begins, circumstances are now dictating a resumption of the pursuit.
The Sun newspaper suggests that Klopp is readying a £20m bid to tempt Koln in to parting with their highest profile player.
The size of the offer not only reflects Hector’s quality, it also reveals Liverpool’s increasing desperation to reinforce a problem position, as the Reds find themselves stricken by defensive problems.
Joe Gomez definitely and Joel Matip, Mamadou Sakho and Lucas are all in danger of missing the start of the season through injury.
Meanwhile, having sold Brad Smith to Bournemouth and, with Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell snubbing the Merseyside club, Alberto Moreno remains Klopp’s only senior left-back. This is a situation which any fan of the club would want remedied with upmost haste.
In an ideal world the far more defensively robust Hector would become Klopp’s go-to man and Moreno would be demoted to understudy.
No Bundesliga player blocked more crosses than Koln’s full-back last season and considering Liverpool shipped 50 goals in the league last season, these kind of stats will be sweet music to Klopp’s ears.
If the Reds can get the deal through, then it will arguably be their most important of a very busy summer so far.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
