Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Interested in Atletico Madrid Defender

We all want a defender this window. Maybe multiple defenders. Particularly, we need centerbacks. But this rumor isn’t about a centerback, but a rightback. But I guess we’ll take what we can get.

At this point, all we can get is a rumor out of the Italian publication Corrierre dello Sport that Atletico Madrid have “confirmed” Liverpool’s interest in out of favor rightback Sime Vrsaljko. This is a follow-up to their earlier made-up story that Liverpool was interested in the first place. Yup, a rumor out of Italy, involving a move from a Spanish club to an English club for a Croatian international. I see no reason to doubt the veracity of this report!

Vrsaljko played Serie A for three seasons, first with Genoa, then with Sassuolo, before moving on to Atletico Madrid in 2016. This season he has played only 363 minutes between La Liga and Champions League appearances. He predominantly plays as rightback, but can be deployed on the left as well. If the report is to believed, Atletico Madrid have put a €25 million (~£22 million) price tag on him.

The rumor is an odd one, and not just for the aforementioned issues with the source. Fullback, shockingly, is a source of relative strength for Liverpool this season. Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold have performed admirably in Nathaniel Clyne’s absence, and a resurgent Alberto Moreno has reclaimed his spot on the left with aplomb. If Clyne is due to miss the rest of the season, and Gomez is ready to make the anticipated move to the center, this could make sense, I guess.

As for now, take this particular rumor with a large grain of salt.