Liverpool were one of the sides interested in signing Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu on a free transfer.
The Turkish defender is set to leave Leicester this summer, as his contract at the King Power comes to an end. And as per 90min, Soyuncu could have been on his way to a Premier League rival.
As well as Liverpool, Newcastle United are said to have been interested in signing the 26-year-old. Both sides reportedly held talks with Soyuncu, but discussions ‘failed to advance.’
Instead, the former Freiburg man is claimed to be on the verge of joining Atletico Madrid. Soyuncu is said to have already agreed terms with Diego Simeone’s side and will join them for nothing in the summer.
The Leicester man has been a fine player at times, but we won’t lose too much sleep over this one.
Soyuncu no longer good enough for Liverpool.
This isn’t the first time Liverpool are said to have been interested in bringing Soyuncu to Anfield. The Reds were linked with a move for him back in 2021, as he impressed with Leicester.
Back then, a transfer would likely have been much more warmly welcomed by Liverpool fans. Since arriving at Leicester for £19m in 2018, he had slowly become one of the most impressive defenders in England. Even Jamie Carragher was impressed, Tweeting that he ‘loved’ watching Soyuncu in 2019.
Unfortunately for Soyuncu, that all now feels like a long time ago. He has regressed alarmingly over the last couple of seasons and is now no longer anywhere near Brendan Rodgers’ best XI.
The Turkey international has played just four times this season, only twice in the Premier League.
On the back of that, it’s hard to see why Liverpool would look to him as the answer to their defensive revamp. The Reds need to refresh their back-line a little as they look for a long-term succession plan to Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk,.
With the best will in the world, Soyuncu is no longer good enough to be that player. A change of scenery may do him good, though. With defensive mastermind Simeone in charge, perhaps the Turk can start to shine once again.
