Liverpool have made no progress in their bid to tie Emre Can down to a new contract, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The newspaper claim that the two parties remain locked in a stand-off in which the Merseyside giants risk losing the midfielder for nothing next summer.
The Liverpool Echo report that Can, 23, won’t sign a contract because “his representatives want him to become one of the club’s highest wage earners and they want to have a release clause written into his contract”.
It is said that Liverpool have so far been unwilling to yield to their demands but Jurgen Klopp’s public stance is that he hopes a compromise can be achieved.
The Germany international’s current deal expires at the end of the season and he can be signed on a free transfer.
Alternatively, Can could sign a pre-contract agreement in January with one of his foreign suitors, led by Serie A giants Juventus.
OPINION
There will be concern on the terraces as well as in the boardroom that an agreement is yet to be reached with Can over a new deal. The German can be an infuriating figure, with his tendency to shoot from distance, any distance, and hold on to the ball for too long particular gripes among the Anfield faithful. But the 23-year-old can hit the heights of central midfield domination in a way which Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson cannot match. He is also young, with his best years ahead of him and, once he grows to fully understand his role, can be a mighty fine central midfielder. Liverpool have done much to develop Can, and should do all they can to reach a contract compromise. To lose him for nothing next summer would be foolhardy and deliver an underwhelming statement about the club’s ambition.