Liverpool are looking for a left-back and a centre-back, but one former target who ticks both boxes won’t be on the agenda due to previous behaviour during talks.
The Reds were keen a year ago on signing Lloyd Kelly, then at Bristol City.
He was seen as an ideal alternative to Andy Robertson: young, talented, reasonably low-priced and with scope to improve in future, as well as being versatile.
In the end he went to Bournemouth for £13 million, though didn’t play much until near the end of the season—when he impressed, despite the Cherries ultimately being relegated.
But the Athletic say there’s “no chance” of the Reds going back in for the 21-year-old.
That’s due to apparent poor behaviour from Kelly’s agents, who are deemed to have acted unprofessionally.
James Pearce writes that Michael Edwards “was angered by how the player’s agency conducted itself last summer” and thus has no intention of becoming involved with them again this time around.
Kelly is represented by Stellar Football Ltd, who also count Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and Ben Chilwell among their clients.
Overseas, their big-name stars are Atletico’s Saul Niguez, Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate and Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale.
The only Liverpool players who appears to be with Stellar are Ben Woodburn, Ovie Ejaria and Caoimhin Kelleher.
It’s unclear if there was a particular representative within Stellar who Edwards was irritated with, or whether it was the entire organisation’s approach to talks.
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