£70m midfielder genuinely thought he might’ve been joining Liverpool on Wednesday

Liverpool’s hunt for a new midfielder has really stepped up a gear this week.

The Reds have just signed Wataru Endo, and now, they’re seemingly also closing in on the signing of Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich.

Gravenberch and Endo may well be the two that Liverpool bring in, but at differing times during this window, other options have looked viable.

One man who has been linked to the Reds rather heavily is Cheick Doucoure, and, once again, this week, those rumours cropped up.

According to Miguel Delaney, writing in his newsletter for The Independent, Doucoure genuinely thought that a move to Anfield was possible on Wednesday.

However, with Endo signed up and Gravenberch potentially set to follow, this move is now looking less and less likely.

Doucoure thought he could get his move

Delaney shared what he knows about Doucoure.

“Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure thought a move may be possible on Wednesday. The London club have already sold a lot of talent this summer, with more to go. Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat is being considered, but he has already been persuaded by interest from Manchester United – which is admittedly dependent on a sale,” Delaney wrote.

Priced out

Liverpool are noted fans of Doucoure, but the reality is that he’s been priced out of this move.

The Malian has had a pricetag of £70m attached to him by Palace, and, in all honesty, no club in their right mind is paying that much for Doucoure.

Yes, he’s a talent, but he didn’t exactly pull up any trees in the Premier League last season. The £70m pricetag was very much a deterrent and it looks to have worked.

Crystal Palace don’t want to lose any more star players this summer, and it looks as though they may well have swatted Liverpool away here.