Player who Liverpool wanted before Dominik Szoboszlai explains why he rejected move

Before Liverpool signed Dominik Szoboszlai, they were heavily linked with a move for Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram.

The Reds experienced a mass exodus of midfielders over the summer, with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all departing upon the expiration of their contracts.

Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho packed their bags for the Saudi Pro League, joining Al Ettifaq and Al Ittihad respectively.

As a result, Jurgen Klopp was forced into the transfer market and added midfielders Alexis Mac Allister, the aforementioned Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch to his weaponry.

However, while Thuram looked to be favourite to join the Reds, the Merseyside club opted to redirect their search elsewhere.

Initially, it was thought that Liverpool had ended their pursuit due to the Premier League's strict homegrown rules which mean a club must register a minimum of eight homegrown players in their first team squad for the 2023/24 season.

However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano subsequently claimed that Liverpool put an end to their interest purely because he was too expensive.

The player himself as since opened up on his failed move to Anfield, explaining that it was his personal decision to continue his career with Nice.

“I think I’ve started the season well," he told reporters (quotes via Get French Football News).

"The team has of course had a very good start to the season. I have developed aspects of my game. Regarding what happened in the transfer window, I decided to stay.

“I wanted to continue to progress at Nice, and progress as a player at this club. Honestly, it made me happy to be linked to all these clubs left, right and centre. It shows I’m doing the right things but as I said, I knew I wanted to stay here."

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.