Jurgen Klopp flew to meet the midfielder in 2016 but talks between United and his club broke down. But Liverpool could now look to re-secure his signature.
Liverpool are set to sign Napoli star Piotr Zielinski, edging closer to bringing the Poland international to Anfield for the first time in seven years.
The midfielder’s contract with the reigning Serie A champions expires at the end of the season and a number of clubs are vying for his services. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sport report that Jurgen Klopp’s side are rekindling their interest in the 29-year-old, but are competing with Juventus.
Zielinski will be available for talks with other clubs from early January and there is currently no chance of him signing a new contract at Napoli. A move to Liverpool was so close to the 2016/17 season that Klopp held direct talks with Zielinski, but Udinese sold him to Napoli for £14m after talks with the Premier League side broke down.
Liverpool then turned their attention to Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined from Newcastle and helped Manchester United win their first Premier League and Champions League titles. Zielinski has since made over 200 appearances for Napoli, highlighted by last season’s league win, but revealed in 2018 that a move to Anfield was imminent.
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Jurgen Klopp has been left “absolutely cold” by Luton’s tactics after comparing them to fighting.’I’m confused. “Liverpool finally got on a plane and I met Jurgen Klopp,” Zielinski said. “He said he wanted me to join his team.
I saw a different world and when I came back my head was even more messed up.”I knew Liverpool really wanted me and when I got that commitment in January I knew they would go back to the negotiations. In the end it didn’t work for Udinese”.
The Reds’ midfield has undergone major changes this season with the arrivals of Alexis McAllister, Ryan Gravenbirch and Dominik Soboslay this summer, who the manager has dubbed Liverpool 2.0.
The most notable departure was Jordan Henderson, while James Milner, Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita also departed. Despite a good start to the season, yesterday’s performance against Luton Town was a surprise. That’s despite Klopp pointing out that no team has ever had an easy game at Kenilworth Road. “It’s a weird game,” he said. “I had a strange feeling after the game.
I think we should have won, but a draw (a decent result) could have led to a defeat, so I think that’s it. Poland’s Piotr Zielinski celebrates after scoring a goal during the World Cup qualifier against Sweden.“Thanks to Luton they have done really well. But despite that we created chances and to be honest we weren’t done with the final penalty.
“At this moment we were not calm enough. We should have scored, we should have created, but first of all it was good. I’ve done enough. Add one or two and you can win 1-0 or 2-0.”Of course it’s okay. Nobody here has won with crazy results. I knew why before, but now I feel like they’re doing really well.”
