Liverpool ‘hours away’ from signing Man Utd star; £34m Plan B green-lighted after ‘last-minute hitch’

Lewis Oldham 26 Sep 2023 2:09 PM

Man Utd star Amrabat — Sofyan Amrabat in training.

According to reports, Liverpool were just ‘hours away’ from signing Manchester United star Sofyan Amrabat during the summer transfer window.

The Reds spent around £150m on new signings during the summer transfer window to recruit four new midfielders. Ryan Gravenberch was snapped up on deadline day after they brought in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo.

Before they acquired Gravenberch, Liverpool were being heavily linked with Amrabat, who shone for Morocco at last year’s World Cup.

The Fiorentina star was made to wait for a transfer throughout the summer transfer window amid interest from Liverpool and Man Utd.

It was claimed shortly before the end of the summer window that Liverpool were leading the race to sign Amrabat, but he ended up joining Man Utd on loan.

The Red Devils have spent a loan fee of around £8.5m to sign Amrabat and they have the option to make this deal permanent for just over £21m next summer.

Amrabat made a brief cameo appearance off the bench against Burnley over the weekend and he’s expected to make another outing in the Carabao Cup in midweek as Man Utd host Brighton.

The Daily Mail have revealed via their ‘confidential’ column that Amrabat was a ‘whisker away’ from joining Liverpool over Man Utd.

‘Sofyan Amrabat could make his first Old Trafford appearance for Manchester United in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace following a brief debut off the bench at Burnley, but it’s emerged that the Moroccan was just hours away from becoming a Liverpool player this summer.’

‘Liverpool’s interest in Amrabat is no secret, with Jurgen Klopp said to have phoned the 27-year-old midfielder personally to try and persuade him to move to Anfield from Fiorentina to help fill the gaps left by Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner.

‘United Confidential can reveal that Klopp was a whisker away from getting his man until a last-minute hitch held up the deal and Liverpool signed Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich for £34.2million instead.

‘The problem is believed to have arisen inside the Amrabat camp. Talks were put on hold for 24 hours and it was during this period that Liverpool decided to go back to Gravenberch who, at 21, was viewed as a younger and better fit for Klopp’s needs.

‘Amrabat is now in the process of changing agents from Stellar to Sports Entertainment Group, who were involved in his move to Old Trafford. United paid a £8.5m loan fee on deadline day to sign the Dutch-born player for the rest of the season with the option to buy him for £21.4m next summer.’

Liverpool Sofyan Amrabat