Slot tempted by signing another Dutchman – Contact with Liverpool, agents at work

Juventus’ Teun Koopmeiners has been a shadow of himself in Turin this season and Liverpool’s interest has emerged as an escape route.

The Bianconeri paid €51m to sign the Netherlands international in 2024. This came after he had a successful spell at Atalanta under Gian Piero Gasperini, also becoming a reliable outlet for goals.

Things haven’t gone to plan at Juventus. His goal contributions have dropped considerably but performances have never been great either. This led to Luciano Spalletti using him in a centre-back role, which led to a bit of a revival earlier this season.

He was then reverted to a midfield role but still hasn’t met his previous standards.

Sport Witness covered Manchester United’s interest in the midfielder some weeks ago. Galatasaray interest hadn’t gone away either, with Juve interested in parting ways.

Now, it is Liverpool who are in the picture for him.

Entourage working to find new club

TuttoSport report Juventus are considering the Dutchman’s sale. He hasn’t been worth the money and it is believed keeping him for longer will not make sense.

They value him at €30m, which will be enough to get them a capital gain in the summer.

The message seems to have reached Koopmeiners’ entourage too. They are exploring the market and have spoken to many Premier League clubs. This has led to Liverpool’s interest emerging, with the Reds ‘attracted’ towards a possible deal.

The newspaper clarify that the English club tried to sign the 28-year-old two years ago.

Liverpool will have to deal with competition from Roma, with Gasperini interested in a reunion. Galatasaray remain in the mix, having kept an eye on the player since January.

Deal will be risky

There has never been any doubt about Koopmeiners’ general ability. During his time at AZ Alkmaar, he was club captain, played in multiple positions and also contributed to goals regularly. 

At Atalanta, he could express that individual ability due to Gasperini’s man-to-man system. In Turin, there has been instability and Koopmeiners’ individual ability has never shone through. He did well at centre-back largely because of how he had space to dictate play and control the game.

All of this will make a move to Liverpool risky. There are too many considerations to make before signing Koopmeiners, which makes the deal largely avoidable.