Forget it Klopp – Liverpool are better off without spending £158m on this La Liga magician

Why Liverpool must avoid signing Marco Asensio this summer

According to a report by the Daily Express, Liverpool are readying a staggering £158m bid to sign Marco Asensio from Real Madrid this summer.

The report further states that Jurgen Klopp is particularly keen on signing Asensio after the failed transfer saga with Lyon captain Nabil Fekir. The Reds have now turned their attention towards Asensio, who is no doubt a great talent but should Liverpool shell out £158m to acquire his services?

Over the course of the previous campaign, Asensio made sporadic appearances for Real Madrid. The Spanish giants have some of the best midfielders in Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, thus making it tough for youngsters such as Asensio to feature regularly for the club.

Nevertheless, he still managed to make 53 appearances across all competitions last season, scoring 11 times and setting up six goals. However, he started only 19 times in La Liga in the 2017/18 campaign.

Although he is an attacking midfielder by trade, the Spaniard appeared in a variety of positions last season. It is evident that Asensio is an exceptional talent and his versatility would come in handy for Klopp and Liverpool.

But since the Reds are looking for someone to fill the void created by Philippe Coutinho’s departure to Barcelona in January, is he the right choice? The biggest criteria while searching for Coutinho’s replacement would be creativity. And to that end, Asensio created a total of 47 chances in 28 La Liga appearances last season.

A player like him needs ample game time to truly establish himself as a force to be reckoned with. And it goes without saying that he will receive better opportunities at Liverpool. However, for £158m, it does not make sense for the Merseysiders to sign Asensio.

The biggest drawback regarding the move is Asensio’s price-tag. Liverpool need a new goalkeeper pronto and they will be better off investing that amount to sign a world-class custodian.

Had it not been for the steep price-tag, Asensio could have been a good choice for the Reds. He is young and has a lot to prove, meaning he would be hungry to succeed.

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However, Asensio is far from being a finished product and for £158m, Liverpool can find much better and established players. Also, they need to focus on signing a new goalkeeper before anything else. Hence, they must place their desire to sign Asensio on the back-burner for the time being.