MICHAEL EDWARDS' GENIUS LIVERPOOL TRANSFER CLAUSE AS BARCELONA FAIL WITH LATE OFFER

Barcelona have failed a late move for Liverpool youngster Stefan Bajcetic and fresh in their memory will be a transfer masterstroke from Michael Edwards.

Edwards was formerly sporting director at the Reds, when they sold Phillippe Countinho to the La Liga giants. Now, he is chief executive at football at Liverpool's owners FSG, though is understood to be taking a keen interest in matters at Anfield.

Barca will be well aware of Edwards' negotiating skills from when they bought Coutinho back in January 2018. Edwards secured a £105million fee for the Brazilian, rising to £142m with various add-ons.

While the then-sporting director earned a reputation for his recruitment in the market, the sale of Coutinho may well have been one of his greatest feats. As well as a record fee for Liverpool, he also ensured Barca would not be able to buy one of their top players in the years following.

It is understood that Edwards only agreed to Coutinho's move on the basis that for the following two years, Barca would be forced to pay an £89m premium if they wished to sign any Liverpool player.

Given the Spanish giants' financial issues in the years since, that prevented them from making the kinds of raids that had seen them land Javier Mascherano, Luis Suarez and Coutinho in quick succession.

That deal expired in 2020 though, with Barca free to negotiate on a level-playing field. As a result, they made a loan bid for Bajcetic, who is seen as a rising star at Anfield though has struggled for minutes.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Liverpool allow Stefan Bajcetic to join Barcelona? Comment below.

That move has failed though, with The Athletic reporting he will instead be joining Red Bull Salzburg. The midfielder will travel to Austria on Thursday to complete the season-long loan deal.

This summer has seen a host of young stars leave Liverpool, with the Reds still yet to make a signing themselves. But boss Arne Slot has defended his club's transfer strategy, admitting that many of those moving on needed game-time he could not offer.

"That's always a difficult one because young players want to play as well and if they want to develop they have to play. It's always like this. They come through the ranks of the youth academy," he said.

"Either then you're good enough to play for us many minutes or you're still not there, or there's too much competition in your position. I think still this team, with what we have, have a lot of homegrown players.

"This club will always bring big good youngsters. You always want to take care of your own interest but you also have a responsibility towards the players and if they want to play somewhere and it is not possible with us, then you have to, in my opinion, let them develop somewhere else."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

2024-08-28T23:10:24Z dg43tfdfdgfd