Liverpool and Sevilla have emerged as front-runners in the bid to sign Sampdoria’s Colombian striker Luis Muriel.
According to a report by TransferMarketWeb, Sampdoria are willing to sell Luis Muriel on condition – the club has to be outside Italy. The move is smart when you look at how highly sought after Muriel has been, and no club would want their prized assets to join a rival.
It was earlier reported that Liverpool have been vying to sign Muriel, and this news will only further help them seal the deal even as Sevilla have also been keen on signing the player. The former Udinese player is likely to be sold for €22 million which is almost twice the sum with which he was purchased about two and a half years ago.
The 26-year-old joined Sampdoria from Udinese for about €10 million in January 2015, and has managed to score ten goals in 31 Serie A appearances this season, helping them cement a place in the middle of the points table.
In the past, Muriel was wanted by clubs like Chelsea, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid, but for now, it looks like only Liverpool and Sevilla are the contenders to sign the player.
Jurgen Klopp has been looking to sign new strikers for Liverpool, and he has also been eyeing Gremio’s Luan Vieira for quite some time now. However, with this new window of opportunity to sign Muriel, it will be interesting to see who Klopp chooses.
Having said that, Liverpool are not in desperate need of goals considering they have scored 75 goals in the Premier League so far – second only to newly-crowned champions Chelsea.
Yet, they could’ve scored a lot more and perhaps challenged for the league title if they had a better striker with the ability and accuracy to score in several games where Liverpool dropped costly points.
With Daniel Sturridge’s constant injury woes, Muriel can come in as a breath of fresh air for both Klopp and the fans. He is extremely creative with a knack for scoring against tough defences, and that part is evident as Sampdoria refused to let him go to an Italian club.
As far as Sevilla is concerned, even they are keen on signing Muriel, but it is understood that they were not happy with the price and wanted to pay a lower amount for the Colombian forward. But, with Vitolo being linked with a possible summer exit, Muriel could prove to be a valuable addition in attack.
From Sampdoria’s perspective, selling Muriel to Liverpool would seem like the ideal option since they are in a better position, and are also willing to shell out the required amount. Also, Muriel can truly flourish and improve by leaps and bounds under a manager like Klopp.
