Liverpool must seize advantage of Jack Wilshere’s contract stalemate at Arsenal after he dropped the biggest hint yet that he is quitting his boyhood club.
The England international has taken the radical step of removing ‘Arsenal’ from his Twitter and Instagram profiles even though he is contracted to the north London club until the end of the month.
For the many clubs eyeing up a player who will be a free agent within weeks, a fantastic opportunity presents itself.
Forget the injuries, the extended spells on the treatment table, and the failure to live up to the expectations hoisted upon him when he was going toe to toe with Xavi in his teens.
Wilshere could do a brilliant job for Liverpool, just as he could for Everton and the many other leading teams looking at snapping up a central midfielder capable of magic.
The Daily Star have reported that Everton have already offered a £8million signing-on fee to Wilshere and are ready to pay him more than his current £120,000-a-week salary, while a separate Daily Star report states interest from their rivals across Stanley Park.
Now is the time for Liverpool to blow their cash-rich neighbours out of the water.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have already signed two central midfielders this summer, with Fabinho joining from Monaco last week and Naby Keita on his way from RB Leipzig after agreeing a deal last August.
But Emre Can is joining Juventus on a free transfer and the Champions League final demonstrated the inadequacies of Liverpool’s central midfield compared to the very elite.
Wilshere has the class and game-changing ability to add a new dimension to Liverpool in the central acres.
He was Arsenal’s outstanding player in the second half of 2017-18 and, aged 26, he is entering his prime.
The England international also appears to have put the worst of his injury troubles behind him.
Liverpool would certainly not require Wilshere to play every match – far from it – but he would provide top-class competition in a position where they need it.
On a Bosman free, he would be the signing of the summer.
