Reports had claimed the Reds were about to hijack Arsenal’s deal for the defender
Liverpool have claimed they will NOT be signing Shkodran Mustafi and have not opened talks about a move.
The defender has been a target for Arsenal for some time and they are close to completing a deal to bring him to the Emirates Stadium. However, reports today have suggested that Liverpool were set to hijack the move and bring him to Anfield instead.
As part of the deal, Luis Alberto was rumoured to be going the other way.
The reports have today though been rubbished by Liverpool, according to the Daily Mail.
Fee not yet agreed
The Reds could be in the market for a new defender, due to several injuries in the squad but it is understood that if they were to bring in a new centre-back, it won’t be Mustafi, as there is no plan to hijack the Gunners’ bid for him.
So Gunners’ fans can breathe easy, as it appears they are still the only team in the market for him. However, that doesn’t mean a deal is done and dusted for him to go to the Emirates though.
Although personal terms have been agreed, the fee for the deal remains an issue.
The Gunners are refusing to meet Valencia’s asking price of about £30m and the Spanish side aren’t looking to accept any less than that amount. Until a fee can be agreed, the player will be going nowhere.
