Report: Emre Can Contract Talks Stall With Liverpool as Suitors Lurk
Liverpool are reportedly increasingly likely to lose midfielder Emre Can as a free agent at the end of the season after the latest round of contract talks between club and player continue to stall.
A story from the Daily Mirror has suggested that Can's wage demands are still what is standing in the way of any contract extension being agreed.
The Reds are said to have a strict wage structure that caps non-marquee players at a weekly salary of £75,000. The player's representatives are, however, alleged to be holding out for a figure closer to the £160,000 written into star player Philippe Coutinho's contract.
With no compromise seemingly likely at this moment in time, Can is in line to become a free agent when his current deal expires on 30th June 2018.
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As things stands, the German international would be eligible to enter formal negotiations with foreign clubs when he enters the final six months of his contract on 1st January. He could also then sign a pre-contract agreement that would see him move for free in July should he so wish.
Can, signed from Bayer Leverkusen for around £10m in the summer of 2014, has started seven of Liverpool's 10 Premier League games so far this season as well as all six the club has played in the Champions League (including qualifiers).
He would therefore represent a significant loss and it has long been known that manager and countryman Jurgen Klopp is keen to have him stay.
However, Can isn't likely to have a shortage of suitors. Both Juventus and Bayern Munich have long been mentioned as holding interest in the 23-year-old and will be the ones to keep an eye on come January when things can really get going.
