Crystal Palace stun Liverpool and reach ‘agreement’ with key target Klopp was desperate to sign
Torino centre-back Perr Schuurs has reached an ‘agreement in principle’ with Crystal Palace, despite being heavily linked with a move to Liverpool.
This will come as a major blow to Jurgen Klopp, who has had the highly-rated defender on his radar for a number of years.
For Crystal Palace, though, Schuurs could prove to be a vital signing, especially with Joachim Andersen being linked with a move to Newcastle recently.
It’s no secret that Liverpool have been in the market for a new centre-back. Klopp was unconvinced by the performances of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez last season and wants to bring in reinforcements.
As mentioned, the manager was desperate to sign Schuurs ‘at any cost’ this summer and pleaded with the Red’s hierarchy to get a deal done, but these efforts were seemingly to no avail.
According to Italian outlet Tuttosport (via Sport Witness) Crystal Palace have reached an ‘agreement in principle’ for Schuurs after making a new bid for the defender.
The report adds that Roy Hodgson explicitly asked the Eagles to sign the Torino star and it seems he will get his wish. The London club are willing to pay him a deal worth €3m (£2.5m) per year.
Torino are happy to sell Schuurs this summer as they want to finance a deal for Nikola Vlasic. The West Ham attacker spent last season on loan with the Italian club.
Tuttosport maintain that Torino ‘won’t be blackmailed’ for Schuurs, though, and are still ‘waiting for the right offer’ in the region of €40m (approx. £34.2m). They have already rejected proposals worth €30m (£25.7m).
While Liverpool and West Ham also hold an interest in Schuurs, Crystal Palace are described as the club who are ‘closest’ to signing the centre-back.
Last season, Schuurs made 30 Serie A appearances for Torino. In the process, he put in some excellent defensive performances and helped his team to nine clean sheets.
Standing at 6ft3, Schuurs is an imposing figure on the pitch and is excellent in the air. Also, he averages 1.97 tackles per match, which ranks him among the top 19% of centre-backs in Europe’s five main leagues in the last 12 months.
With stats like that, it’s clear to see why Klopp was so keen to sign the 23-year-old. However, everything now points towards Schuurs joining Crystal Palace this summer.