1 year ago
344 Steve Nicol believes that Liverpool should now cash-in on Fabinho after receiving a £40 million bid for the Brazilian from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad.
Nicol was speaking on ESPN following the news – as reported by the Guardian – that Fabinho will not travel with the Liverpool squad for their pre-season training camp in Germany.
The Guardian claims that Fabinho is now expected to leave Liverpool after the club received that offer from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, it is not yet clear whether Reds captain Jordan Henderson will follow him to the Kingdom.
It is something of a shock to see Fabinho and Henderson being linked with the Liverpool exit. But the club are in the process of overhauling their midfield options with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai already through the door.
Nicol backs Liverpool to cash in on Fabinho
And it cannot be forgotten that Fabinho – like several others – had a really tough campaign last year. He certainly did not look the same player who had previously established himself as one of the best holding midfielders in the world.
And with that, Nicol believes that the time has now come for Liverpool to let him go as they obviously have doubts about whether he can regain his best form.
“Do you know, it’s funny, at the end of the season when we were talking about Liverpool’s midfield, and the thing I said was: ‘well, it’s interesting to figure out whether Liverpool – Klopp, in particular – but the coaching staff when they all get together and talk about the players, whether Fabinho had a bad spell or whether his legs might have gone’,” he told ESPN.
“And the fact they’re willing to listen to offers for him at this stage, with pre-season already started, tells you that I think the answer is they think his legs have probably gone. So that is what this tells me.
“And if they can get £40 million for a guy who they obviously are not desperate to keep him if they’re going to let him go, then you take the money.”
Reds in line to make most of their money back
Remarkably, Liverpool are set to get the chance to make almost all of their money back on Fabinho. As reported by Sky Sports, the Reds spent £43.7 million to sign him from Monaco.
He has proved to be an unbelievable signing. He has been ‘outstanding‘ for a number of years. But his form has dipped in more recent times.
And his departure should leave Liverpool with more than enough time to find a replacement. Ultimately, they will have been preparing for Fabinho’s departure for some time.
He has been so important. So it is only right that they have targets in mind. It may just be that they have to get on with replacing him much sooner than expected.
The post 'This tells me': Pundit thinks Liverpool aren't desperate to keep 'outstanding' £44m star amid recent reports appeared first on The Boot Room.
