Luis Alberto did not have a particularly impactful time at Anfield. The creative midfielder was signed from Sevilla in 2013, after spending a year on loan at Barcelona B. Having struggled to break into Brendan Rodgers’ plans, he was sent on loan to Málaga in 2014/15. Another loan followed in 2015/16, with Alberto going to Deportivo La Coruña. As a result, the Spaniard was not around to impress Jürgen Klopp when the German took the reins — he was sold to Lazio in the subsequent summer window, with Liverpool banking half of the £6.8 million they had initially paid. FSG were probably willing to chalk this one off as a loss, but Michael Edwards had other ideas: he inserted a clause into the sale which now, five years later, could help Liverpool in the pursuit of Atletico Madrid’s Saúl Ñíguez.
The clause in question was a sizeable 30% sell-on fee. Perhaps recognising that Alberto had never really been given a chance to show his best at Liverpool, Edwards ensured that the club would stand to profit if the midfielder eventually came good on his potential. This has emphatically come to fruition: six league goals and a remarkably impressive 16 assists in 2019/20 marked the high point for Alberto at Lazio, but his performances have been consistently strong ever since his initial acclimatising season in Serie A. Now, it seems the 28-year-old wants a new challenge. Prices of €50-60 million have been quoted, and Atletico Madrid are said to be the primary interested party.
Nor is this is all just idle transfer gossip. Alberto has failed to appear at Lazio’s pre-season training, clearly intent on forcing through a move. Liverpool and FSG will no doubt be secretly pleased by such antics, as it maximises the chances of landing a sum that could be as high as £15 million. This is essentially bonus money: FSG will not have accounted for it, so it would make sense if the funds were funnelled straight into Edwards’ budget for recruitment.
Helpfully enough, one of Liverpool’s main reported targets is currently at Atletico Madrid. Saúl is in a far more defensive mould than Alberto, so the Spanish side would not be looking at the Lazio man as a direct replacement, but another body in midfield would surely ease the process of convincing them to part with Saúl. (Atleti have also been linked with Rodrigo De Paul, which gives even more cause for optimism.) A bid of €40 million (around £34 million) is not quite enough for Liverpool to prise Saúl away, at least according to AS, but there is belief that a deal can be agreed. Even assuming it rises to €50 million, that only equates to roughly £43 million — with the Luis Alberto £15 million sell-on ‘discount’, that brings the effective price down to £28 million.
Enter Shaqiri. The Swiss international has had a hugely impressive Euro 2020 campaign, and just so happens to fit the mould of an Alberto replacement for Lazio. A left-footed creative hub, he has previous experience in Serie A with Inter Milan. Again, this is more than mere speculation: the Italian side have been linked with Shaqiri, with former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri said to be a personal fan. The exact fee remains to be seen, but has surely been inflated by Shaqiri’s Euros antics: a reasonable estimate of around £13 million could then pull the effective fee for Saúl down to £15 million.
Such transfer ‘triangles’ are not commonplace, but this one genuinely seems to be in the best interests of all parties. Alberto gets to return to his native Spain, where Atletico Madrid will be getting their hands on a proven creator. Lazio get an excellent replacement in Shaqiri, who is a genuinely world class option for anyone prepared to build around him. Liverpool acquire the ideal Georginio Wijnaldum replacement in the shape of Saúl. Everyone’s a winner — with Liverpool winning biggest, thanks to the foresight of Edwards in the initial Alberto sale.
FSG’s transfer strategy has had to change as Liverpool have grown into a genuine powerhouse once more, but some bonus money arriving from a clause negotiated by Edwards in a bygone era would be a welcome boost in the pursuit of Saúl.
