Christoph Baumgartner has appeared on Liverpool’s radar, reports say kicker the day after the European Championship match between the the Dutch and Austria (2-0). The midfielder of TSG Hoffenheim is considered a possible successor to Georginio Wijnaldum who left for Paris Saint-Germain. Both players met on Thursday evening in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, with Wijnaldum stepping off the field with three points.
The German newspaper does not think that Baumgartner is seen by manager Jürgen Klopp as the direct successor of Wijnaldum. He still lacks the experience and the quality to join that position the Reds to take over right away, or so it sounds. He will therefore be calmed down. Despite this, it is believed that the Austria international’s attacking intent can add a lot to Liverpool’s game, while Wijnaldum has always played more from control at Anfield. Klopp is in any case charmed by the 21-year-old midfielder, who was mentioned earlier this year as a possible acquisition of Manchester United.
Clear answer to question about Wijnaldum legacy: ‘Not working on it at all’
One option already seems out of the question for Liverpool.
kicker emphasizes that Baumgartner extended his contract with Hoffenheim in March until mid-2025 and that there is a good chance that an escape clause of more than thirty million euros has been included. However, it is questionable whether this provision is already valid this summer. If Baumgartner is actually sold, Hoffenheim will have the financial opportunity to extend the contracts with Andrej Kramaric and Florian Grillitsch.
The search for a suitable successor to Wijnaldum has been underway for some time. Florian Neuhaus (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and Lorenzo Pellegrini (AS Roma) have already been mentioned in various foreign media as possible candidates for Klopp. Youri Tielemans is in any case not concerned with the succession of Wijnaldum at Liverpool. “I’m not working on that at the moment. “Let the journalists pass judgment on that, they undoubtedly have a lot to report about it. But I have nothing else to do with that. I can only make sure that I perform as well as possible on the field,” said the Leicester City midfielder on Tuesday from the Belgian European Championship camp.
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