PFA Set to Step in and Mediate Ugly Dispute Between Liverpool & Bobby Duncan

The PFA are set to step in and mediate the ugly dispute between Liverpool and unsettled teenage starlet Bobby Duncan, with the Reds blocking a proposed move to Fiorentina in Italy following a ‘derisory’ £1.6m offer despite the player seemingly being keen to leave.

The saga exploded this week when Duncan’s agent, Saif Rubie, accused Liverpool of holding Duncan at the club against his will and even damaging his mental health through their treatment of him. The reigning European champions firmly denied such allegations.

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According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool were ‘shocked by the accusations’ made by Rubie.

As a result of the ongoing battle, during which Rubie claimed Duncan had not left his room for four days, the PFA will now fulfil a mediation role, and a meeting to try and settle the increasingly bitter dispute could be held within 48 hours.

Duncan had appeared to endorse Rubie’s statements, made via Twitter, when he retweeted the comments on Wednesday. He quickly undid that retweet, however.

The teenager later broke his silence on the matter, using social media to declare: “I just want to play football!”. He quickly deleted the message.

Rubie has since deleted his Twitter account altogether and irate Liverpool fans on social media haven't taken kindly to the under-fire agent's apparent role in proceedings. Homophobic and sexist comments were also unearthed in alleged past tweets.

Duncan scored prolifically for Liverpool at Under-18 level last season and was crucial to the club winning the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 2007. Despite his young age, he is aiming for a higher level than junior football, but sees his path to regular senior game time blocked.

Aside from Fiorentina, Danish club Nordsjaelland have also been credited with interest.