Liverpool transfer news as 'juicy' $27m offer made and Jurgen Klopp could sign Barcelona star
Liverpool.com reported the club had opened talks with a bid for Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga well under his release clause, alongside speculation linking Klopp to a cut-price Barcelona midfielder.
Liverpool made a "juicy" opening offer worth roughly $27 million (about £22m/€25m) for Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga, according to Liverpool.com -- a bid substantially below the Spanish prospect's reported $44 million (£35m/€40m) release clause.
The same report also floated the possibility that manager Jurgen Klopp could pursue a cut-price move for Barcelona and former AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, reportedly available for around $16 million (£13m/€15m) a year after his move to Barcelona. Liverpool.com's reporting noted Kessie also had an offer on the table from Saudi Arabia, which the outlet suggested was the more likely destination.
Liverpool.com framed talk of a Veiga move as having cooled by the time of publication, since the club had by then signed other players for the middle of the pitch and reportedly needed a more defensively minded number six -- making the earlier bid speculation feel, in the outlet's words, premature relative to the squad's needs at that point in the transfer window.
Why the reported bid fell short
The gap between Liverpool's reported $27 million offer and Veiga's $44 million release clause was significant enough, per the report, that the bid looked more like an opening position than a serious attempt to meet Celta Vigo's valuation. Liverpool reportedly tried to bridge that gap not just with a low fee but with structure: Football365 reported the club discussed agreeing a lower price now while loaning Veiga back to Celta Vigo for the remainder of the season, rather than paying the full release clause upfront.
The Kessie angle
Liverpool.com's reporting cast the Kessie link as speculative and secondary to Saudi interest, rather than an active negotiation, reflecting the kind of roundup-style transfer coverage common in the English close season, where multiple named or rumored targets are floated without confirmation any deal is imminent. That read proved accurate: Kessie ultimately left Barcelona for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli in a deal reported at 12.5 million euros, Sports Mole and ESPN reported, after starting just seven La Liga games the previous season under manager Xavi. He became the fifth Europe-based player that summer to join Al-Ahli, following Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy and Allan Saint-Maximin.
How the Veiga chase actually ended
Liverpool did not sign Veiga. Reporting from Sportskeeda and Goal.com in the following weeks indicated Paris Saint-Germain moved to match his roughly 40 million euro release clause outright, seen as more competitive than Liverpool's discounted structure. In the end, neither Premier League interest nor PSG's chase decided it: Veiga signed instead for Saudi side Al-Ahli, a move multiple outlets described as unexpected given the Premier League and PSG interest that had defined the summer's coverage of him.
The Veiga chase illustrates a pattern that recurred across Liverpool's targets that transfer window: both Veiga and Kessie were the subject of extensive Premier League and wider European speculation, yet both ultimately chose Saudi Pro League moves over reported Liverpool or Barcelona interest, part of a broader wave of Saudi-funded transfers -- including Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy and Allan Saint-Maximin to Al-Ahli alone -- that reshaped the market's leverage that summer, according to the outlets reviewed.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by Liverpool.com, Football365, Sports Mole, ESPN, Sportskeeda and Goal.com. It restores a story originally published on this site in 2023; figures are as reported at the time.