Liverpool could make 7-figure profit on player they have already sold

Liverpool could turn a sizeable profit on a player they have already sold, with a host of Premier League clubs interested in a £25 million deal this summer.

After six years with the Reds, and seven loan spells, Taiwo Awoniyi departed on a permanent basis last year, joining Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.

The Nigerian signed a five-year deal with the German club, who paid £6.5 million for his services after a successful loan in 2020/21, representing a £6.1 million profit on the fee Liverpool paid for him in 2015.

It has proved a boon for Union, with Awoniyi scoring 16 goals and assisting a further four in 35 games this season – only six players, including Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland, have netted more than his 11 in the Bundesliga.

His fine form in Germany has attracted interest from three Premier League clubs and another in the Championship, ahead of an expected return to England this summer.

According to Goal‘s Jorge C. Picon, Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton are all weighing up moves for the 24-year-old.

Those clubs are claimed to be “prepared to pay” £25 million for Awoniyi, who is “keen to prove himself in England” – information corroborated by ESPN’s Bundesliga reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt.

Rhind-Tutt adds that Fulham are also in pursuit, with there a “95 percent chance” the bustling striker departs Union at the end of the campaign.

How does this concern Liverpool?

Though Awoniyi is no longer a Liverpool player and, in truth, barely was throughout his six years on the books, any future transfer remains of great interest to the club.

During negotiations with Union last summer, sporting director Michael Edwards worked in a 10 percent sell-on clause, which entitles the Reds a further profit if Awoniyi is sold.

It is unclear whether this is 10 percent of any transfer fee or only the potential profit on Union’s £6.5 million investment, but it is safer to assume it is the latter.

In that case, if the Nigeria international moves for £25 million, Liverpool would then be owed 10 percent of the additional £18.5 million – or £1.85 million.

The best-case scenario would be a full £2.5 million cut being repaid.