Liverpool have seemingly missed out on Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos because Jurgen Klopp wants to sign him permanently, according to the Daily Star.
The newspaper claims that the Reds boss has made a decision on the 22-year-old, coming to the conclusion that he only wants a permanent deal for him, not a loan one.
However, it appears that the German’s stance may have backfired on this occasion. The Spain international emerged as a transfer target for the European champions after being made available by Madrid chief Zinedine Zidane earlier this summer.
Ceballos only wants to leave on loan, though, to boost his chances of making Spain’s Euro 2020 squad. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are in for the player, but Liverpool now look set to miss out.
OPINION
Clearly Ceballos isn’t ready to give up on his Madrid career for good. He was a consistent performer for the Spanish giants last season, to be fair, so why would he want to depart permanently? Perhaps Zidane doesn’t fancy him at the moment, but that doesn’t mean he can’t work his way into the Frenchman’s plans at some point. That’s what he’ll be looking to do next time out, and is why he’s only looking to leave the Bernabeu on a temporary basis. Klopp, however, seems to only be willing to do a permanent deal. That’s probably because he feels the Reds are too big a club to be doing other teams a favour and developing their players for them. And he’d be right, Liverpool are beyond that now. Plus, Klopp will be aware that he is extremely well stocked in central midfield at this moment in time. With the players he’s got, he doesn’t need to be bringing anyone else in unless it’s under the exact right circumstances.
