Friends reunited?
Not so super Mario Gotze is understandably considering his future having been omitted from Germany’s World Cup squad.
The forward scored the winner in the 2014 World Cup final but there is no place for him this year, and that’s left him wondering whether he should breathe fresh life into his football by reuniting with Jurgen Klopp.
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
TalkSPORT reports that Gotze considers Klopp one of the biggest influences on his development, having played under the Liverpool boss when he was in charge of Borussia Dortmund.
Since joining Bayern Munich in 2013, Gotze has struggled to find the consistency he showed under Klopp, and in a candid interview with German TV the 26-year-old admitted: “I decided to leave Bayern and Klopp was interested in getting me to Liverpool. And I was also interested in working with him again. It still exists. He is a world-class coach and that’s why it’s always an option.”
Fekir not en route to Anfield
What lends a dash of intrigue to Gotze’s comments is the collapse of Nabil Fekir’s transfer to Liverpool at the weekend.
As the Liverpool Echo reports, the French attacking midfielder had agreed personal terms with the Reds and had even been pictured in a Liverpool shirt prior to the official announcement but then the wheels came off the transfer.
The Echo says “the deal collapsed on Friday when Liverpool withdrew their interest after the player’s medical, the Reds having sought a second opinion after concerns were raised over an old knee injury”.
Apparently Liverpool had doubts about the durability of the 24-year-old Fekir and withdrew from the transfer, leaving Lyon to announce on Saturday that he would be staying with them next season.
There was no mention of the collapsed deal by Fekir when he tweeted a photograph of the France squad on their flight to Russia with the brief message “En route !!”
Which isn’t something he can say about Anfield.