News is being banded around that Liverpool have made £25.8 million bid to activate the release clause in Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini’s contract. It has been reported across many outlets today with both The Echo and the Daily Mirror covering the story.
Jurgen Klopp will no doubt be on the lookout to replace Gini Wijnaldum, who has recently signed for Paris St Germain on a free transfer. Several names have been rumoured, such as Wolves’ Ruben Neves, Brighton’s Yves Bissouma and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Florian Neuhaus, all of whom could fit the bill to replace the Dutchman.
Pellegrini joined Roma as a youngster, making his debut in 2015 at the age of 18. It was his only appearance for them before being signed by Sassuola at the end of the season for €1m, however Roma inserted a buy-back clause for €10m, which was executed after a successful two seasons at the Mapei Stadium in which he made made 47 appearances, scoring 9 goals. Since returning to Roma, he has made 114 appearances and has been made the captain of the side, despite only being 24 years old.
He can play in either of the attacking and defensive midfield roles and his main attributes are his agility, physical strength, work rate and energy levels, basically everything that would be described as Gini’s strengths. His versatility to play either in an attacking or defensive role would be something that Klopp would also be very keen to add. In his youth, due to his 6′ 1″ height was usually playing as a centre-back, so he also possesses impressive ball winning abilities.
Incoming Roma manager Jose Mourinho will not want to lose one of his star players and captain before he even embarks on his first season, but it could be the get out opportunity that Lorenzo would cling on to, knowing full well that Mourinho will be much more keen to deploy his defensive strengths than any attacking prowess.
Of the other names mentioned as a replacement midfielder for the reds, and of course, not the Premier League based players, there is no clause to ensure that the club could sign them for a guaranteed amount. I have doubts that either Brighton nor Wolves would want to sell either of their prized assets for even close to what is being reported that Liverpool could sign Pellegrini for.
Of course, it’s a wait and see, but it is one that would make sense for both the club and the player, and with only a £25.8m clause in his contract, surely Michael Edwards would want to get this deal done before the Euros, for if he has a good tournament for Italy, there would surely be a few more clubs wanting to secure his signature. Liverpool haven’t had the best of luck signing Italian players (Balotelli, Dossena, Aquilani, Borini), surely we need one to break that pattern.