Real Madrid are looking to increase the release clause in Raul Asencio’s contract in order to ‘scare away’ Liverpool, according to reports.
The Reds have been having a great time in the Premier League with Arne Slot’s side 12 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal as they head into the final nine matches of the season.
It would take a minor miracle for the Gunners to pip Liverpool to the Premier League title from here with the Reds only losing one league match all campaign.
Despite exiting the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain before the international break and losing the Carabao Cup final, Slot could hardly have wished for a better start as Jurgen Klopp’s successor.
The main difficulty he’s faced has been the ongoing speculation and questions about the future of out-of-contract trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
And now Liverpool could be tasked with finding potential alternatives for the trio with reports confirming that Alexander-Arnold has reached an agreement to join Real Madrid.
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Van Dijk had seemed like the most likely of the trio to stay but his future remains up in the air with reports regularly linking him with a move away from Anfield.
If he does leave, the Netherlands international captain’s replacement could be Asencio at Real Madrid with Defensa Central claiming that the Spaniard is a target for Liverpool.
However, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez ‘does not want this player to leave for another elite team’ with Asencio recently receiving ‘an automatic renewal that extends his current contract by four seasons’.
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That contract includes a release clause of €100m, making the Real Madrid centre-back attainable for some of the top clubs in the Premier League.
The report adds:
‘That figure, at least at the current stage, will serve to ward off attempts by clubs like Liverpool and PSG . Especially the team chaired by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, whose emissaries were able to speak with the Real Madrid center-back a few weeks ago … without achieving the success they had hoped for. Despite this notable improvement in his working conditions, Real Madrid’s sporting management is willing to negotiate.’
Real Madrid are keen to ‘discuss new terms’ this summer and his new salary ‘would start at €6.2 million and could increase to €9 million’.
The report continues:
‘Likewise, Real Madrid bosses would like to change his current release clause. While it’s true that Raúl Asencio has made it clear he doesn’t want to leave Real Madrid, the Merengues executives prefer to set an exit barrier of 500 million euros (£417m), half of what the most elite stars of the first team earn, to definitively scare away any attempt to sign him from the European football elite … and even Saudi Arabia .’
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy expects Van Dijk to stay but insists it would be a “very difficult situation to resolve” if he did leave.
Murphy said: “The centre back position would be a very difficult situation to resolve, Van Dijk’s stature is like no other player in the world.
“I like Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth who looks a real talent, but they may need to replace that stature and it’s such a hard thing to do. Jarrad Branthwaite from the neighbours Everton would be a brilliant signing, he’s a real presence, good on the ball and he has an abundance of character and leadership. I think they could look at Marc Guehi also, he’s fantastic.
“My gut feeling is the length and breadth of Liverpool’s recruitment team goes far and wide and will likely look to bring someone in who’s less well known and fashionable, where the club feel they can mould them into a better player.
“Again, if Virgil goes, you have to bring two in, as my feelings are that even if he stayed this summer, they should be looking to sign another central defender.”
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