One reported Liverpool transfer target has given the ‘final green light’ to his next move – but it won’t be to Anfield.
In recent days, German football insider Christian Falk claimed that the Reds had the ‘best chance’ to sign teenage Hertha Berlin midfielder Kennet Eichhorn after Bayern Munich pulled out of the running.
However, the 16-year-old subsequently rejected an offer from the Merseysiders in favour of remaining in his homeland, despite ‘intensive efforts’ from LFC to secure his signature (Florian Plettenberg).
Just after 11:30 on Wednesday morning, Plettenberg took to X to report: ‘Kennet Eichhorn to Bayer 04 Leverkusen – done beal. The 16 y/o gem has now given his final green light. Rejections have been sent to all other clubs. Eichhorn will join Leverkusen from Hertha BSC via a release clause worth €8m-€9m. Contract until 2031. Medical soon. The saga is over.’
The news was later shared by David Ornstein for The Athletic, with Leverkusen seemingly the surprise victors in the race for the midfielder’s signature, which is seen as a ‘significant coup’.
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It’ll no doubt come as a big disappointment for Liverpool not to snap up Eichhorn despite their considerable efforts in their pursuit of the youngster.
The Athletic‘s German football expert Sebastian Stafford-Bloor has described the 16-year-old as ‘the German talent of his generation’ and a player with a ‘very exciting future’, adding that he’s been ‘compared with a young Toni Kroos’.
Not even the prospect of Champions League football at Anfield could dissuade the youngster from joining Leverkusen, although he may view the Bundesliga side as the most ideal pathway towards regular first-team football at a high level for the short-term.
However, it seems as though Liverpool aren’t wallowing in self-pity abut missing out on Eichhorn, with reports that the Reds are now in talks over a potential raid on Manchester City’s academy for another midfield prodigy in Xavier Parker.
As one door is slammed shut, another may be just about to open for the Merseysiders as they continue to cast a wide net for some of the most precocious teenage talents across England and Europe.
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