After pursuing Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Gotze for the first weeks of the summer, Liverpool have called time on their interest.
The Reds were reported to have bid £20 million for Gotze back in May, but the 24-year-old rejected the offer to leave the Allianz Arena.
“I look forward to the new season in Munich and will do everything possible to compete in top shape during my first training under Carlo Ancelotti,” he said, despite the incoming Bayern manager advising him to leave the club in search of first-team football.
But after a miserable spell with Germany at this summer’s European Championship, Gotze is believed to be targeting a summer move.
According to the Liverpool Echo‘s James Pearce, however, this won’t be to Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp now content with his attacking options.
The Reds sealed the £30 million signing of Sadio Mane at the end of June, leaving Klopp with a strong front line, including Brazilian duo Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho.
Mane’s arrival has already put pressure on England international Adam Lallana for a starting role, with Klopp able to boast healthy competition in his forward ranks.
Along with Firmino, Coutinho, Lallana and Mane, Klopp is also likely to depend on Lazar Markovic and Sheyi Ojo as squad options in 2016/17, though Jordon Ibe is set to join Bournemouth after Liverpool accepted their £15 million bid.
Gotze has been linked with both Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur in recent days, and a move back to the Westfalenstadion is arguably the most feasible option.
Dortmund sold Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Manchester United, leaving a gap in Thomas Tuchel’s squad that Gotze could fill.
Not securing the signing of his former protege early in the summer will have disappointed Klopp, but having added Mane to his squad, the 49-year-old can look forward to a strong campaign.
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