Liverpool dealt potential transfer blow as Reds-linked teenage target outlines ‘his big goal’
Liverpool could find it difficult to land one reported transfer target, according to a claim from a reliable European journalist.
On Monday, Florian Plettenberg claimed that the Reds are ‘monitoring the development’ of Assan Ouedraogo, with Jurgen Klopp particularly keen on the Schalke 04 midfielder.
However, the 17-year-old has a number of illustrious suitors from across Europe (including Bayern Munich and AC Milan) and, according to the journalist, all of them could be turned down by the teenager.
Plettenberg told Sky Germany: “Ouedraogo identifies with Schalke but he also knows about his potential and wants to take the next step. His big goal is to play in the Bundesliga with Schalke, but that will be difficult.”
It appears that Ouedraogo’s priority for now is to help his current club get back into the Bundesliga, from which they were relegated last season.
The teenager has been a rare positive in a dismal campaign so far for Karel Geraerts’ side, becoming the club’s youngest-ever player and goalscorer in their 5-3 defeat to Hamburg in August (bundesliga.com) and managing to retain his place in the starting line-up for the most part ever since (Transfermarkt).
The Germany under-17 international is still only finding his feet at senior level, but having already earned stylistic comparisons to the likes of Xabi Alonso and Michael Essien (bundesliga.com) and attracted interest from several big-name clubs, he clearly seems to have an enormously high ceiling.
The one hope for Liverpool – and other prospective suitors – is that Schalke don’t look like granting Ouedraogo his wish of playing in the Bundesliga any time soon, with the Gelsenkirchen outfit languishing in the relegation play-off berth in the German second tier.
With a few more months at first-team level, the teenager might outgrow his current club if they fail to improve on their current predicament. Maybe then the Reds might have a stronger chance of persuading him over a move to Anfield.
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