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Revealed: Why Liverpool signed Diogo Jota over Ismaila Sarr

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Liverpool chose to purchase Diogo Jota from Wolves after Watford requested for an unanticipated upfront fee for Ismaila Sarr.

Watford got relegated to the Championship after a disastrous season in Premier League. The club put up Ismaila Sarr on the transfer list right after their downgrade.

On the other hand, Liverpool was seeking for a forward. They had their eyes set on the Senegal international.

Although, in spite of the relegation, Watford demanded an upfront fee of £40 million. Liverpool expected Sarr’s price to drop down. But the Hornets smashed the club’s early negotiations with this unpredicted offer.

However, Watford’s claims were not wrong either. They purchased Sarr for £40 million, and the speedster managed to achieve great success at Vicarage Road.

The club believed that his price was increased because of his level of performance. This demand for extra money now put the deal to around £50 million.

Eventually, Liverpool refused to accept this ridiculous offer. They ended their negotiations in the early stage of the transfer.

Then, the Reds switched to the Portugal international Diogo Jota. Contrarily, Wolves welcomed Liverpool’s offer and accepted a small upfront fee per Athletic. This encouraged the Merseyside club to dig deep into the negotiations of Jota.

In the event of the pandemic, Liverpool was aware of its financial condition. Thus, the club sought for smaller upfront fees to balance out their accounts. The aim was to improve the long-term finances considering the number of summer transfers.

Liverpool then managed to hit an identical deal for Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara. The Spanish international only had one year left at the Allianz Arena. Subsequently, Liverpool managed to buy him for £25 million with an upfront fee of £5 million.

Meanwhile, Watford still aims to sell Sarr. This might be a challenge for the Hornets as the transfer season hints to end. Manchester United seems to have an interest in the Senegalese. Though, they are in the pursuit to buy Jadon Sancho from Borrusia Dortmund. 

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