'Deal agreed' - 'Exceptional' Liverpool left-back set for Anfield exit with medical planned for £10m Rangers target
Liverpool have made a good habit of turning a profit from fringe players with another set to leave.
It’s not always the big money deals that make the difference for Liverpool, it is the ones for players who aren’t as important or regular first teamers that add up.
This summer, Caoimhin Kelleher has left the club for £18m to join Brentford. The Republic of Ireland international may have got his chance through injury to Alisson on most occasions, but he did enough to attract the eye of The Bees. The 26-year old was never going to be the Reds’ No.1 and yet he has still made the club a lot of money as his contract ticked down.
It is the same scenario for the academy players who haven’t quite done enough out on loan to force their way into the manager’s plans with Arne Slot giving the go ahead for a player who Jurgen Klopp gave a debut to in 2023 to leave. Despite claims he is back on Rangers’ radar, Beck is staying in England.
Owen Beck nears Liverpool exit as former manager comes calling
The Telegraph’s midlands reporter John Percy has claimed that Beck could be reunited with a familiar manager John Eustace. He reported on X: “Derby are close to signing Liverpool left-back Owen Beck on loan for the season. Deal agreed and Wales u21 international expected to undergo medical later this week. Beck was signed by John Eustace at Blackburn last year and was v keen to play under him again.”
According to a report from Dave OCKOP on Monday, Beck has a price tag of £10m, however, a subsequent claim suggested that Rangers only wanted to pay £7m including add-ons as they eyed a move.
Considering the Glasgow giants have paid over £10m just once in their history, for Tore Andre Flo in 2000, it is unlikely that they would for Beck – especially with three left-backs still in their first-team squad.
That the 22-year old is being allowed to leave on loan with his contract expiring at the end of the season seems like a strange move by a club that is notorious for getting best value for money out of their academy graduates. Liverpool are basically giving away a player who has done well on loan and who should fetch a seven-figure sum.
Beck’s case has been a strange one with flashes of promise being followed by disappointment. Rangers have tried to sign Beck before, in January 2023 after an impressive first half of the season at Dundee in the Scottish Premiership with Jurgen Klopp explaining why it hadn’t always gone to plan for the talented defender:
“(Beck’s spell at Dundee) was good,” Klopp told the Liverpool website.
“We’re (always) pretty positive about Owen, but then he had two really difficult loan spells (at Bolton and Portuguese outfit Famalicao), which was a surprise that it didn’t work out because of what we thought about Owen. But that’s how it is, especially with young boys when you send them away from home and stuff like this.
“Plenty of things can happen, and it always needs to fit really well. It must be the right manager, must be the right team. If you have another left-back there and he has experience…
“There are so many things (that) can make a loan spell not really happening.”
What has John Eustance said about Owen Beck?
Rams boss John Eustace spoke passionately about Beck when he was on loan at Blackburn Rovers before injury ended his season and it is easy to see why he wanted him at Pride Park too: "Owen was exceptional, that is why he's here," Eustace said via The Lancashire Telegraph last October.
"He's a very young, talented player. He's got other good young players around but also experience around him too. They want to help him and they're always talking to him.
"He's had a brilliant game against a couple of really tricky wingers today for Swansea. He dealt with them very well.
"He will have a huge future in the game, I am sure. We have really good competition at the club and Owen will learn a lot.
"He's come from Liverpool, he had a good experience up in Scotland last year. We don't want to put too much pressure on him, he might be up and down at times, but we're very fortunate he's here."