Liverpool "Set to Sign" Samed Yesil

As with the signing of Oussama Assaidi, Liverpool have apparently completed another transfer deal seemingly without any knowledge for those not directly involved in the deal. Tony Barrett of the Times indicates that the club are in the process of signing 18 year-old Samed Yesil from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee around £1m. Yesil wasn't part of the squad that made the trip to Anfield a few weeks ago, but made his senior squad debut back in April as a substitute against Hertha Berlin.

I suppose there might be a few more who are familiar with Yesil than Assaidi, particularly if there was any sort of interest in the U-17 World Cup in 2011. Yesil featured heavily as part of a German squad that went unbeaten in group play and ended up winning the bronze medal after falling to the eventual champions, host nation Mexico. Yesil finished second in scoring for the tournament with six goals, and has since progressed to the U-18 side where he's made three appearances.

Beyond that we're left scrambling, which is both an unsettling and exciting experience. It's nice to see the club going after younger talent on the continent, and that much of the pre-signing process has taken place outside of the public knowledge is just as encouraging. There's obviously risks with signing unknowns and youngsters, but the potential payoff, especially with Brendan Rodgers' commitment to player development and bringing young players along, is enormous.

I suppose there's still a bit to be done to wrap the deal up, and the chances of the player featuring in the first team immediately are slim. That doesn't mean you can't watch video, though: