Liverpool must soften stance with midfielder

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Emre Can of Liverpool gestures during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at The King Power Stadium on February 27, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Emre Can of Liverpool gestures during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at The King Power Stadium on February 27, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images) /
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Liverpool can’t afford to lose Emre Can

Jurgen Klopp has done a lot of great things at Liverpool, but establishing a physical midfield isn’t one of them. That’s why the German manager needs to be very careful that his club doesn’t negotiate too sternly with Emre Can when it comes to his new contract.

Simply put, Can is the closest thing that Klopp has to a true defensive presence in the midfield. Jordan Henderson can do a shift there as well, but Can undoubtedly has a higher ceiling. Unfortunately for the Reds, Can’s contract at Anfield is set to end at the conclusion of the 2017/18 campaign.

That means it’s time for Can and the higher-ups at Liverpool to start discussing a new contract. The longer the situation lingers, the less leverage the club can hold in the matter. If they fail to lock Can up with a new contract this summer, they could risk losing him for nothing.

Add all of those factors and you can understand why I’m quite surprised to learn that Liverpool are playing hardball with the German midfielder. The Mirror are reporting that contract talks between the club and player have stalled as of late. Can is looking for a significant raise over his current wage packet of just £35 thousand per week.

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Rumour has it that Can is looking to double his current earnings. That certainly isn’t an outrageous request from such a talented player. Can may not have provided Liverpool with as much consistency as they’d like, but he’s still shown flashes of becoming an excellent Premier League midfielder.

It’s easy to forget that he’s still just 23-years-old. He’s already playing at an average Premier League level. His Whoscored.com player rating average of 6.99 is only slightly below average for England’s top flight. Moderate career progression would easily allow him to become an above-average regular in short order.

If Liverpool dally in negotiations, they’ll quickly find themselves besieged by other clubs interested in Can’s services. In particular, there are quite a few Bundesliga clubs who’d like to bring him back to his native land. Juventus are also being strongly linked with a summer swoop.

Next: Liverpool interested in Real Madrid reject

Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have a beautiful attack, but they need to spend some resources solidifying their defense this summer. Losing Emre Can would be a bitter blow for everyone at Anfield.