Liverpool Transfer Target Jonathan Tah “Doesn’t Want to Leave” Bayer Leverkusen

It’s been a quiet rumble, an off-and-on thing, but over the past few months there’s been a quiet but steady drumbeat linking Bayer Leverkusen centre half Jonathan Tah with a move to Anfield. The 20-year-old stands as arguably Germany’s best young defender, and his signing would be something of a coup for Liverpool.

Certainly, then, it’s a rumour it’s been easy to get excited about. Though that it’s never managed to grow into more than a light, background rumble despite the player’s clear quality, his nationality, and that he seems a perfect fit for the way the club like to do business under Fenway Sports Group does tend to give one pause.

Now, there’s another reason to doubt the Jonathan Tah to Liverpool rumours will ever amount to anything, as the player himself was asked about the supposed interest from Jürgen Klopp’s side and about whether, more generally, he sees himself eventually moving away from Leverkusen to continue his development.

“I’m very happy at Bayer Leverkusen,” said Tah when pressed on questions of what his future might hold by German daily Bild. “I don’t want to leave. We have reached the last 16 of the Champions League, and if somebody wants to call it a stepping stone, I can only say you can’t ask for much more.”

Players making noises about not wanting to leave is nothing new, and it’s certainly not something that entirely rules out a move, but Tah’s denials seem fairly strong—and at the very least they would rule out any thoughts of a January deal being possible. At the very least, Tah is sticking around for the Champions League.

However, given that on paper, at least, he’s about as perfect a transfer target as one could imagine for Liverpool, it’s hard to imagine his name won’t come up again; that the steady drumbeat won’t continue. But it won’t be turning into anything solid this month.