Defender Fails in Attempt to Escape Liverpool Purgatory

Valencia and Granda wanted to take Tiago Ilori on loan for the season, but Liverpool were only interested in a permanent sale of the player they paid £7M to bring to England from Sporting CP three seasons ago. This led to a late push by the player to force a move, but that effort has failed.

According to journalists with ties to the club, including The Liverpool Echo’s James Pearce, with just a little more than an hour to go in the transfer window, it is now certain that Ilori will not be going out on loan. The 23-year-old centre half will be stuck playing with the reserves until at least January

Ilori was frequently linked with a move to Spain this summer, but no La Liga club was willing to match Liverpool’s valuation and the club were determined not to lose him on the cheap. Their resistance to a loan deal was intended in part to force one of the interested clubs to up their bid.

That didn’t happen, and the club will try again in January or next summer to find the Portuguese defender—whose contract runs through 2018—a permanent home. Since arriving at Anfield three years ago, Ilori has made three first team appearances for the Reds, all in domestic cup competitions.