Why Liverpool might break rules to sign Serge Gnabry

Liverpool reportedly want to sign Serge Gnabry from Bayern Munich. Here's why they might break their own rules to do it.

There's a surprising rumour doing the rounds. Gazzetta Dello Sport reported this week that Liverpool are looking at Serge Gnabry as he comes to the end of his Bayern Munich contract in 2026.

They write about it from Juventus's perspective. The Old Lady were looking to sign Gnabry until the Reds got involved - now the costs have skyrocketed.

As we say, it's a surprising one. Do Liverpool actually need Gnabry?

Well, now Bild are reporting the same thing. Again, Juventus want him and again, Liverpool are muscling them out. It's starting to sound as though it's actually got legs.

So why would Liverpool move to sign Gnabry? And why would they break their own rules to do it?

Serge Gnabry to Liverpool?

Now, Liverpool do need to sign a winger. They sold Luis Diaz in the summer and didn't replace him, while Arne Slot appears to have little to no faith in Federico Chiesa as a starting player.

So in that sense, moving for an experienced winger who can start for Liverpool makes a lot of sense. Moreover, Gnabry can play on both flanks adeptly enough, making him an ideal squad player.

And that's certainly what he'd be. Gnabry has never started more than 26 league games in a season and that number was just 13 as Bayern won the Bundesliga last season.

He's someone who pops into the team every now and then, rather than a superstar who delivers every week. But it's important to note that relative to his minutes, Gnabry does deliver a lot.

He averages around 0.85 goals and assists per 90 minutes at Bayern in the Bundesliga. Or at least, has done since arriving there in 2018. It was 0.87 last season across 1200 minutes - a solid rate.

Liverpool would need to weigh up the actual value for money here, though. Bild are talking £17m per year and for that you'd get seven goals and five assists based on last year.

That's not really enough, even if the goals-to-minutes ratio is solid. But Gnabry just isn't on the pitch enough.

There's another massive issue here, too: he's 30. Liverpool hate paying big money to players over 30, hence taking forever to agree new contracts with Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk last season. And it took sensational, world-beating performances from the pair to actually convince the club.

Liverpool never pay big money to players over 30 unless they feel they have to. It's a major rule of theirs and one they've essentially never broken.

So why Gnabry? Well, Liverpool do need a winger. They could also use some extra experience. But they also need homegrown players and Gnabry is one of those thanks to his development with Arsenal.

The Reds sold a lot of them in the summer, with only Jeremie Frimpong arriving as a replacement in that regard. Giovanni Leoni will eventually be homegrown but it'll take time for him to qualify.

Time that Gnabry could fill with a two-year contract, for instance.

And so we think Liverpool's interest here could simply be opportunistic. Gnabry happens to tick a few of the right boxes at this certain point in time.

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