Liverpool could save €30m on summer transfer target due to unusual Champions League clause

Liverpool could save €30million on a Napoli star due to an unusual Champions League clause, a journalist has claimed.

On Tuesday it emerged that Liverpool had pulled out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham, due to the high transfer fee involved.

The 19-year-old had been heavily linked with the Reds for months, but any move for the midfielder would cost more than £100million.

Given the changes needed at Liverpool, with the club currently languishing in eighth in the Premier League, they do not consider the transfer a viable option.

Instead, the Anfield club are looking to be more shrewd in the market to improve the squad as a whole.

Liverpool in for Kim Min-jae

According to Italian journalist Luca Cerchione Liverpool could steal a march on their rivals in the race for Kim Min-jae should they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The Reds are currently languishing 13 points adrift of Manchester United who are in the final top-four spot.

However, their tepid domestic form this term could see them land Kim for €30million (£26million) less than those in Europe’s premier competition due to a clause in the player’s contract.

Cerchione explained via FootballNews24: “In any case, Napoli’s idea is to offer [Kim] an extension at the end of the season to take his contract to five years, therefore expiring in June 2028, with a salary of €2.5 million net per season, plus half a million in bonuses.

“Even this figure seems to be a tad low for a defender of his calibre, but Napoli are not going any further out of respect for their salary cap.

“If a solution cannot be found, he could be playing elsewhere already next season: Liverpool and Manchester United are on him, with Paris Saint-Germain could consider him.

“An entangled situation: certainly until the end of the season there will be no talk of his future, although the club has already informed the boy’s entourage.

“To be more precise, the termination clause varies from 40 million in favour of clubs that do not play the Champions League.

“In the event that Napoli itself does not qualify for the next edition of the Cup with the big ears, to 70 million for clubs committed to the most important European competition for clubs and turnovers that exceed a certain threshold."