Liverpool won’t use Kostas Tsimikas in any swap deal, according to one Greek journalist. That’s after reports that they had one in mind.
Calciomercatoweb claimed this week that Liverpool want to sign Adrien Rabiot from Juventus. He’s out of contract in the summer and the Reds see him as an ideal signing for their midfield.
In fact, they want him in January. They hope Juventus would accept Kostas Tsimikas in exchange, allowing Liverpool to boost their midfield without actually spending anything.
Well, Sportime journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos says that’s not true. While he can’t comment on Liverpool’s interest in Rabiot, he says Tsimikas is going nowhere.
“No thoughts at Liverpool for a swap deal between Rabiot and Tsimikas,” he wrote on Twitter. “Tsimikas is a key player for [Jurgen] Klopp.”
Kostas Tsimikas not leaving in swap deal
We said in our initial comments on the report that we wouldn’t want to see Tsimikas leave like this. He’s just too good to be used in a swap deal. Especially when Rabiot isn’t exactly a guaranteed success.
That’s not to say we wouldn’t sign Rabiot, though. He’d be a very interesting addition to midfield and, potentially, a first-XI player before long.
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But if he’s out of contract in the summer, giving up Tsimikas would be insanity. The Greek left-back, who Capology claim is on £50k per week, is putting up some of the best numbers of any left-back in Europe right now. You’d want to be getting £20m+ for him at a minimum, not giving him up to get someone in a bit early.
We did suspect it was nonsense, and we’re glad to see suggestions that it’s just that. Tsimikas has a future at Anfield and has developed into a key member of the squad.
As for Rabiot, we’d still like to see an offer in January – but as a pre-contract for a summer free transfer.