There are few players who have improved since leaving Liverpool in recent years, but Luis Alberto is one of that select group.
The 27-year-old left Anfield in 2016 for the small fee of £4.3m, and it was expected that he would soon be forgotten about considering he had failed to make an impact on Merseyside – he played just 12 times for the Reds before departing.
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However, since joining Lazio, he has become a creative force. In 120 appearances for the Rome-based outfit, he has scored 24 goals and provided a huge 40 assists, of which 13 have come in 25 Serie A matches this season – in Europe’s top five leagues, only five players have managed more. His displays have even earned him a cap for Spain, another example of how much he has progressed since his exit.
However, there may still be a silver lining yet for the European champions – in the deal which took him to Italy, Liverpool inserted a 30% sell-on clause and now, interest appears to be picking up in the attacking midfielder currently valued at £49.5m by Transfermarkt.
Of the teams interested in the Spaniard, one of them is none other than the Reds’ city rivals Everton, with their manager Carlo Ancelotti said to be keen in making him a part of his plans for the future.
Of course it would be the Toffees who would be linked with providing an indirect financial boost to Liverpool in the future. It would not be the first time they would have done it, either – their purchase of Yannick Bolasie from Crystal Palace effectively gave the Eagles the funds to sign Christian Benteke for a club-record fee – the Reds received £27m after Everton had parted with £25m for the DR Congo international, who is now at Sporting Lisbon after being ravaged by injuries at Goodison Park.
Given how Liverpool have performed this term – they have a 22-point lead at the top of the table – they don’t seem to be missing Alberto, and one transfer for Everton is not going to make them a challenger at the top. If the Toffees do follow up on their rumoured interest, Michael Edwards will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are desperate for this man’s leadership in Jordan Henderson’s absence.