Liverpool are reportedly looking to bring in Pascal Gross to Anfield in January and are ready to stump up £15 million to land the Brighton man.
According to The Mirror, Pascal Gross is on the radar of Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp intent on adding to the options in midfield. The Brighton star has been one of the many players to leave a positive impression on the current Liverpool manager, with Klopp ready to lodge a £15 million bid in January to land the German star.
Despite being part of the Under-17 Bundesliga winning Hoffenheim side, Pascal Gross never managed to make the step up at the club and joined Karlsruhe on a free transfer in 2011. But, it was his subsequent free transfer to Ingolstadt a year later that saw him start to develop into a quality footballer.
Largely deployed in central midfield, Gross became a key player at Ingolstadt and spent five seasons with the German outfit before joining Brighton in the summer of 2017. His maiden season was a resounding success in the Premier League, with Gross ending the campaign with seven goals and eight assists to his name, which saw him grab Brighton’s Player of the Year Award for the season.
The current campaign has been a far cry from his 2017-18 exploits, mainly due to an ankle injury. Still, Gross is regarded as one of the most important players within the Brighton setup that Chris Hughton has developed and is finding mild success with this season, with the club currently fighting for places in and around the mid-lower portion of the table.
Liverpool have a plethora of attacking superstars in their squad and Jurgen Klopp has been marshalling them oh so eloquently. But, the recent shift to a 4-2-3-1 to push Mohamed Salah into the lone forward position, with Roberto Firmino in the number 10 role could open up space for a number 10 to join to add depth in the said position.
While a case could be made for Naby Keita being an option at number 10 should Firmino not be available, the former RB Leipzig star possesses little to no experience of playing in the hole behind the striker and could struggle. Thus, Klopp is looking to bring in a player who has already proven his credentials in Premier League last season.
Gross is not a new name for Klopp. The manager is reported to be fond of the player since his time managing Dortmund in Bundesliga and ushered praise upon the German in December, 2017 lauding his shooting and ability in dead-ball situations.
While Liverpool could reprise their pursuit of Lyon ace Nabil Fekir, Gross would come way cheaper than the Frenchman and would also be a player who would likely be satisfied with playing second fiddle to Firmino.
While the report suggests a fee of £15 million, Brighton are unlikely to let go of their prized asset for such a low sum, if at all. Gross and his chemistry with strike partner Glenn Murray has been the backbone of many-a wins for Brighton and Hughton would not want to break it mid-season.
On a deal that still has three-and-a-half years left, Brighton have the upper hand, if they are interested in negotiating with Liverpool in January. A January transfer though, has very little chance of it happening unless Chris Hughton decides to shake things up or Liverpool come in with an irrefutable offer.
