Report: £840m player rules himself out of huge game in fear of injury after Liverpool begin talks to sign him

There are plenty of exciting whispers coming from Liverpool at the moment on the transfer front.

Arne Slot has maintained Liverpool’s attractiveness to potential arrivals after a stunning debut campaign since replacing Jurgen Klopp last summer, guiding the Reds to the Premier League title at the first time of asking, and in emphatic fashion to boot.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	36	25	8	3	83	37	46	83
2	ArsenalArsenal	36	18	14	4	66	33	33	68
3	NewcastleNewcastle	36	20	6	10	68	45	23	66
4	Man CityManchester City	36	19	8	9	67	43	24	65
5	ChelseaChelsea	36	18	9	9	62	43	19	63

Now, movement is happening behind the scenes.

Liverpool are in advanced talks to sign Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen after Trent Alexander-Arnold decided to leave on a free transfer, while the Reds have also enquired about Rayan Cherki of Lyon.

Real Madrid No.11 Rodrygo is also a target for Liverpool – and an interesting story has now emerged regarding the Brazilian.

Rodrygo potentially keeping himself fresh for a lucrative transfer

TBR Football understand Liverpool opened talks to sign the unsettled Rodrygo last week, and the saga took a new turn when Carlo Ancelotti surprisingly left the South American out of El Clasico on Sunday, a match Real Madrid needed to win to have any chance of beating Barcelona to the title.

Now, however, Marca are claiming that the Brazil international ruled himself out of the game, as he did not feel strong enough to partake and was wary of an injury setback, despite still being named on the bench.

The man from Osasco – who has a €1bn (£840m) release clause – is also said to be in a bad way emotionally, with doubts over his role at the Santiago Bernabeu amid the presence of Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

Marca add that Rodrygo – who Arsenal also want – is low on morale at Real Madrid, and is considering a change of scenery this summer despite the fact his contract runs until June 2028.

Jurgen Klopp wanted Rodrygo years ago

If Liverpool do end up signing the 24-year-old this summer, it would be a deal that has been years in the making.

Klopp actually wanted to sign Rodrygo from Santos before Real Madrid eventually shelled out £37m to sign him at the age of just 17 – a bid which blew Liverpool out of the water.

Now, however, Slot could get the man Klopp wanted, seven years on from the German’s initial interest.

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