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Having missed out on Mohamed Salah, most Liverpool fans will have hoped the club might turn its attentions to midfield and fullback. Sky Sports, at least, decided they needed to quash those hopes by reporting that their sources were linking the club to former player and Championship winger Tom Ince. In the simplest terms possible, if true it's the sort of move that might lead to pitchfork-wielding mobs.
Liverpool fans ready to angrily take up farm and gardening equipment and chase after Ian Ayre's taillights can probably set their anger down, though. At least if The Times' Liverpool man Ben Smith is to be believed. And at least for a few hours until the next ridiculous rumour linking the club to a developmental winger they really don't need comes along.
Contrary to reports elsewhere, I am told #LFC have not made a late bid for Tom Ince.
— Ben Smith (@BenSmithBBC) January 27, 2014
Following on from rumours earlier in the window that Monaco were seeking to sign Ince, these late Liverpool links stand as the second pairing between Ince and a club that seems unlikely to actually be chasing the player. The truth is that links to Swansea, Hull, Crystal Palace, and Sunderland all seem far, far more likely destinations for Ince.
It seems possible, perhaps even likely, that this is a case of the player's agent—in this case also his dad, Paul, recently fired by Blackpool via text message—floating the names of clubs like Liverpool and Monaco in the press, either to gauge interest or, more likely, to drive up the bids from clubs that are actually be in for the winger.
