For the last number of months, it had been thought that the deal to bring Timo Werner to Liverpool had essentially been wrapped up. It looked like the player was keen to make the move to Merseyside, with Jurgen Klopp also looking to bring in another forward this summer.
When rumours began to swirl that the German was instead on his way to Chelsea it certainly came as a shock. It seems that Liverpool didn't want to commit to meeting Werner's £50million release clause, a fee that does look very reasonable the way transfer deals have ballooned in recent years.
It is likely the coronavirus pandemic had a big impact on the decision. Clubs have had their earning power slashed in recent months, something that looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Speaking to Goal, Jamie Carragher believes that this was the deciding factor in Liverpool not pursuing the deal.
Without the pandemic, I'm sure Liverpool would have signed Werner.
Everyone knows that Liverpool’s front three are as good as anything in the world right now, but Werner would have played a lot of games next season.
There were suggestions that he was unsure over a move to Liverpool because he might not play every week, but look at what is coming up next season and it highlights why it would have been very difficult for Klopp to convince him to come and assure him that he would play a lot of matches...
With the Olympics not happening this summer, doubts over whether the African Cup of Nations will go ahead and the financial hit Liverpool have taken due to the pandemic, the decision was made not to sign Werner, but I would like to have seen them push through with the deal.
It clearly looked like the player wanted to come to Liverpool.
Considering Liverpool only signed Adrian last summer, their supporters will be hoping to see a couple of players brought in over the coming months.
It seems unlikely that there will be any big money deals, however.
