Liverpool have agreed a deal in principle for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Emre Can. According to the Guardian, Liverpool have agreed trigged a €12m (£9.7m) release clause in Can’s Leverkusen contract over a week ago.
Can is now set to become the second signing for the Reds this summer, following the capture of Rickie Lambert from Southampton earlier this week.
The German under under 21 international scored four goal in 39 appearances for Leverkusen and played an influential role in team’s fourth placed finish last season.
The reason why the deal was not progressing despite Liverpool triggering his release clause was the contractual problem with Bayern, as the Bavarians had a buy-back option on the Frankfurt-born player and were reportedly keen on taking Can back to Munich next summer.
The option did not apply for a sale outside Germany, which allowed Liverpool to capitalise, and helped Leverkusen to make a profit on sales as well.
Can was Leverkusen’s sixth best player last season according to whoscored.com with an average rating of 7.3, comparable to Lars Bender who has been linked with a big money move to Arsenal this summer. He played all over the pitch, in central midfielder, as a defensive midfielder and also a left sided defender, a position of need for Liverpool.
Been a good summer so far for Liverpool. Two very good signings for under £15m combined. Cannot beat that.