Liverpool's move for £25M pressing machine failed due to 'wrong' timing - could sign him next summer instead

Liverpool tried to move late in the transfer market for £25M Konrad Laimer but it failed due to 'wrong' timing.

The Reds were scrambling around for a midfielder in the dying embers of the summer transfer window and this move for Konrad Laimer was clearly too late.

RB Leipzig would most likely have wanted more time to find a suitable replacement given he is a key player for them. However, with him being out of contract next summer, they may have wished they had cashed in.

The reports come from Fabrizio Romano, who claims Liverpool made a late move but from our perspective, why didn't Liverpool move earlier?

Fabrizio Romano on Konrad Laimer to Liverpool

Laimer’s contract expires next June and there are many clubs interested — especially Bayern Munich, as manager Julian Nagelsmann is reportedly a big fan.

Considering the trio of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are all out of contract next summer, replacing them with someone of the quality of Laimer would be an extremely shrewd move.

The Reds could even offer him a fairly prominent role in their midfield, given that Thiago can't play every week and picks up plenty of small injuries - Laimer may favour that over playing less at Munich.

Why he's a perfect low-cost option with quality

Laimer looks tailor-made for Klopp's side; he ranks as the highest active pressing midfielder in Europe and his energy would be perfect in a 4-3-3 alongside Thiago and Fabinho.

At 25, he has a perfect blend of youthfulness and experience and is a highly progressive player ranking between the 84th-89th percentiles for progressive carries, progressive passes received, dribbles and touches in the opposition area.

He would essentially be the same profile as Naby Keita but without all the regular, niggling injuries that restricted his game time over the years. His injury record is very respectable, with only one major injury to his ankle back in 2020.

To top it off, he's out of contract next summer and could even agree a pre-contract in January - he could be the perfect low-cost midfielder to help revitalise a stagnant Liverpool midfield.