6 transfers Liverpool missed out on including Real Madrid duo and Son Heung-min
Since replacing Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager in 2015, Jurgen Klopp has overseen a number of excellent signings that have helped the Reds win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
The likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Sadio Mane proved to be inspired signings, but there are also plenty of top stars that Liverpool have missed out on over the years.
Here, Mirror Football takes a look at six transfers Liverpool missed out on, including one player who twice turned down a move to Anfield in consecutive transfer windows.
Jude Bellingham
The most recent example of Liverpool missing out on an important signing is their failed pursuit of Jude Bellingham, who signed for Real Madrid earlier this month.
The Reds had been heavily linked with the 19-year-old, with Klopp viewing him as the perfect addition to Liverpool's midfield. However, they abandoned their plans to sign Bellingham in April due to the sheer scale of the rebuild needed at Anfield.
Klopp's dream Liverpool line up as last-gasp January transfers rejected
"You ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they tell you, 'I want a Ferrari'," Klopp said when asked about the failed move. "You wouldn't say 'That's a good idea'. You would say, 'No, it's too expensive and you cannot drive it.' And that's how it is."
Aurelien Tchouameni held talks with Liverpool, but opted to join Real Madrid instead (Getty Images)Aurelien Tchouameni
Bellingham is not the only midfielder Liverpool have missed out on to Real in recent years, with France star Tchouameni rejecting a move to Anfield last summer to instead ply his trade at the Bernabeu.
"The first to come forward was Liverpool," he told Le Parisien. "We had discussions. Then Real arrived. And in my head everything was clear. It was Real and not another. It's the biggest club in the world.
"If you claim to accomplish great things, to mark the history of your sport, there is no better. So I didn't hesitate for a second. I told my agent 'as long as there is interest, we do everything to go there'."
Son Heung-Min could have joined Liverpool instead of Tottenham (Getty Images)Son Heung-min
Klopp first attempted to sign Son in 2013 when he was still in charge of Borussia Dortmund, but the forward ended up joining Bayer Leverkusen instead.
"One of the biggest mistakes in my life is not signing Son Heung-min," Klopp later admitted to KBS News. "He is fantastic, a sign of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world."
Both Klopp and Son ended up making the move to the Premier League in 2015, with Klopp replacing Rodgers at Liverpool and Son signing with Spurs. However, the South Korean superstar almost ended up joining the Reds instead that summer, with his agent Thies Bliemeister revealing Liverpool had "scouted him several times" and "would love" to have signed him.
Alex Teixeira was strongly linked with a move to Liverpool before switching to China (Getty Images)Alex Teixeira
After scoring 22 goals in 15 league games for Shakhtar Donetsk, Liverpool made an approach for Teixeira in January 2016 and the player was keen on the move.
However, Liverpool's £24.6m bid was flatly rejected by Shakhtar and the move ended up getting hijacked by Chinese club Jiangsu Suning who forked out around almost £40m to sign the Brazilian. Reflecting on the move in 2021, Teixeira told A Spor : "When I left Shakhtar it was advertised as if I had chosen the money over the Premier League.
"The Premier League is the best league in the world. Unfortunately, the negotiations with Liverpool had come to a dead end and Liverpool gave up. While I was disappointed with this, good offer came from China. The offer from China was one I couldn't refuse."
Liverpool transfer window winners & losers as £37m spent on Klopp's "great day"
Piotr Zielinski was approached by Liverpool in consecutive transfer windows (GETTY)Piotr Zielinski
The Poland midfielder played a key role as Napoli won the Serie A title this year, but Zielinski could easily have been plying his trade in the Premier League with Liverpool.
Speaking to Polish outlet Przegląd Sportowy in 2016, he revealed he twice rejected a move to Anfield after impressing on loan at Empoli. Liverpool initially tried to sign him in January, but Zielinski "wasn't convinced" and did not want to leave Empoli while they were strill trying to qualify for Europe.
Once the season ended, Liverpool revisited their interest in Zielinski and the player even met with Klopp to discuss the move. "My head was a mess," he explained. "Liverpool finally got a plane and I met with Jurgen Klopp. He said he wanted me in his team. I saw a different world and after returning my head was an even bigger mess."
Nabil Fekir
After Liverpool sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in 2018, they looked to have found their replacement in Lyon captain Nabil Fekir.
Both personal terms and a fee had been agreed and Fekir even underwent a medical, before the move mysteriously collapsed. "You want the truth? Even I don't know, I promise you," Fekir told French outlet L'Equipe in 2019 when discussing the failed move.
"I did my medical and then [Liverpool] decided not to sign me. At some point they wanted to have me believe it was because of my knee, but an excuse needed to be found."
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