With Liverpool set to lose Gini Wijnaldum in the summer, a gap will open up at the heart of Jurgen Klopp's squad. It is a gap transfer gossip peddlers are absolutely desperate to fill already.
The latest name causing trend-waves on the Liverpool Twittersphere is that of former Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey, who left the Premier League for Juventus in 2019.
A one-sentence article (literally, see for yourself) by CalcioMercato launched a thousand re-writes across the UK press, with The Sun even mocking up how the Reds could line up next season with the Welshman in their starting XI. Spoiler alert: it's the same as before...but with Aaron Ramsey in it.
There are three main reasons why a Ramsey to Liverpool transfer is incredibly unlikely to happen. Let's go through them.
First of all, his age. Ramsey turned 30 back in December and is (like every other human on the planet, bar maybe J.Lo) not getting any younger.
While he undoubtedly has several years left in him in top-level football, Liverpool's admittedly pretty successful transfer strategy has seen them turn their noses up at anyone past about 27.
Ragnar Klavan and Thiago remain the only two outfield players brought in under Klopp, who had already turned 29 years old. The former was a cheap, experienced back-up option and the latter was deemed an exception to the rule considering his quality and the cheapness of the deal.
With Henderson and Milner now into their thirties, should Liverpool dip into the transfer market this summer for a direct Wijnaldum replacement, it is much more likely to be for someone younger... and cheaper.
That brings us onto the second point: price.
Ramsey has a contract at Juventus until 2023 and even if Juventus want to sell, his wages could prove tricky for most normal clubs.
The three-time FA Cup-winning Welshman was reported to have signed a frankly mad £400,000-a-week deal with Juve upon leaving Arsenal, with the Italians apparently deciding to blow the money they saved on a transfer fee on his salary.
For context, Liverpool's current top earner is Mohamed Salah on around half of that, while Wijnaldum supposedly earns about £90,000 per week.
And finally, point number three: fitness.
Along with his ball-retention, technique and industry, one of Wijnaldum's key assets for Klopp was his availability. The Dutchman was and is a near ever-present in the Reds' engine room.
Ramsey, on the other hand, has occasionally struggled with injury issues and has missed 18 games to date across just two seasons at Juve.
In the words of Juventus manager and wine connoisseur Andrea Pirlo: “He [Ramsey] has physical problems and is unable to get continuity to his performances because he has to stop every two or three games.”
Again, this makes him unlikely to appeal to Michael Edwards, Klopp and the recruitment team at Anfield.
To sum up, Ramsey may well want a return to the Premier League and Juventus may well be keen to offload his massive salary, but Liverpool is not gonna be his next stop.
Verdict: no chance.
Source : 90min