Liverpool’s hope of signing Sevilla defender Alberto Moreno has hit a roadblock after the Spanish club’s sporting director has confirmed the deal if off.
The Merseyside club have long been interested in signing the left-back. Earlier it was reported the Reds were not keen on matching the La Liga club’s valuation for the Spain international’s services.
Sevilla sporting director Ramon Rodríguez Verdejo has confirmed Brendan Rodgers’ side are ready to pay only £16m for Moreno’s signature – £4m short of their valuation. Verdejo believes the two clubs can never meet on an agreement after the later stages of negotiations failed.
“The matter of Alberto is practically settled. We couldn’t reach an agreement and I don’t think it can be revived,” Sevilla sporting director said, as reported in the Liverpool ECHO.
“It was great offer, but the player is only 21 years old and it’s possible that the catharsis of being with the national team had a positive effect.”
Verdejo says Moreno will continue at Sevilla and has backed him to improve in Spain. However, he has opened for a summer move if the interested clubs could make an offer, which would be hard for the La Liga outfit to reject the offer.
“He has a lot of room to grow and the coach is very happy to have him. I don’t think we’ll make a lot of moves, but if on August 14 a club comes along and they give you a mountain of cash, well….I know you don’t like to hear it, but we are economic managers,” Verdejo added.
“My feeling is that the negotiations are paralysed and I don’t see any hint that they will be restarted. We put a price on our players which we believe to be appropriate. Whoever wants to buy, can buy, and if you can’t…”
“Also, with the sale of (Ivan) Rakitic, our needs were covered. We don’t have the burden we had at other times,” he concluded.
Liverpool have already agreed deals for Rickie Lambert and Emre Can. Mroeno was set to be their third summer signing. From Verdejo’s latest comments, it looks like Sevilla are not willing to sell their prized asset.
With Moreno blow, Liverpool could turn their attentions in landing Sporting’s versatile defender Marcos Rojo. However, the Anfield club will face competition from Italian champions Juventus, who are reportedly keen on beating the Reds for the Argentine international’s services.
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