Jose Mourinho's Impact on Liverpool's Transfer Pursuits
Jose Mourinho has spent a career colliding with Liverpool. From Chelsea to Manchester United to Tottenham, he has felt the noise at Anfield and relished the rivalry. Now at Real Madrid, he has just dealt the Reds another painful reminder of his pulling power.
This time, it comes in the shape of Endrick — and the one that got away, Yan Diomande.
Endrick shuts door on Liverpool
Liverpool tested the water. After missing out on Diomande, they are said to have asked Real Madrid about Endrick’s situation, sounding out whether the Brazilian forward might be prised away.
The answer was blunt: no.
According to ESPN, Endrick is not entertaining the idea of leaving Madrid. The 19-year-old has enjoyed his first full summer working under Mourinho and sees a path for himself at the Bernabeu, despite the extra competition Diomande brings.
Mourinho, for his part, is reported to view Endrick as a flexible attacking weapon, capable of filling multiple roles across the frontline. That belief has already been tested. Both coach and player are understood to have turned down approaches from Aston Villa and Roma in recent weeks.
Endrick’s response has been to play – and score. After spending the second half of last season on loan at Lyon, he has been heavily involved in pre-season. He started and found the net in his first summer outing against Fiorentina, then kept his place in the XI for friendlies with Deportivo La Coruna and Ferencvaros. He sat out the most recent game, but his status in Mourinho’s plans looks clear enough.
Liverpool, watching from afar, have had to move on.
Diomande chooses Madrid – and Mourinho
The turning point in this story came long before any Endrick enquiry. It came when Diomande picked Madrid over Merseyside.
Liverpool were prepared to go big. Almost £100million was on the table for the Ivory Coast international, only for Diomande to choose the European champions instead. The winger has since explained just how hard Mourinho pushed to make it happen.
“Mourinho got up at five in the morning to talk to me,” he told SportyTV. When Madrid call, the decision follows quickly. “When Madrid calls you, you can't say no. So I said: ‘If they want me, that's where I'll be.’”
That early-morning pitch did its job. Diomande has now made his non-competitive debut for Real, coming off the bench for the final half-hour in place of Brahim Diaz while Endrick watched on.
The 20-year-old has been effusive about his new manager since landing in Spain. “As soon as I arrived, he told me: ‘I promised you that you were going to be part of my team, and here you are.’ And I told him: ‘I'm happy to work with you because you are the best.’”
His admiration did not stop there. “I can learn a lot from him; he is the right coach to continue my development. I am prepared to die for him.”
Those are the kind of words any manager wants to hear. For Liverpool, they underline what they were up against.
Liverpool’s search moves elsewhere
With Endrick staying put and Diomande already in white, Liverpool have been forced to cast the net wider in their hunt for attacking reinforcements.
Their most concrete move so far has been for Yankuba Minteh. Brighton & Hove Albion rejected a £50million bid for the winger, but that is the player Liverpool have actually gone in for, rather than just discussed.
Other names have been on the board. The club have held initial exploratory talks over Ibrahim Mbaye and Magnhes Akilouche. Both, though, are now off the table after joining Paris Saint-Germain, where they link up as team-mates.
PSG are also central to another of Liverpool’s pursuits. The French champions want £140million for Bradley Barcola, and talks between the clubs have been ongoing for weeks. Barcola, for his part, has made it clear privately that he wants to join Liverpool. The price remains the problem.
Earlier in the window, Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Said El Mala were also looked at as potential options, but no move has materialised.
So Liverpool push on, still searching, while Madrid close ranks around a young forward line shaped by Mourinho. Endrick stays. Diomande is in the door. And once again, when Liverpool came calling, it was the man in the Real Madrid dugout who had the final word.
