The 23-year-old Dutch prodigy Perr Schuurs who is currently employed at Torino in Italy is being reportedly eyed by Liverpool.
The Reds are said to have been reportedly eyeing him for a long time, especially following his performance for Ajax against Liverpool in the 2020/21 season. They even thought of making a move for the young defender then although opted to sign Ibou Konate from RB Leipzig instead. Last summer Schuurs joined Torino from Ajax.
Liverpool are desperately in need of a defender now that Levi Colwill looks unlikely to leave Stamford Bridge in this transfer window.
Schuurs fits the profile. He is tall, fast-paced, and can distribute the ball from the back and even carry it forward, something which Konate has been struggling to do. At Torino, he has featured in 33 matches and his development was there for all to see.
Napoli, the current Serie A champions, are also said to be interested in acquiring the services of the Dutchman but Liverpool seems to be leading the race as the player would prefer a move to Anfield and play under Klopp.
The player has also confirmed that his camp has received offers from the Reds. There has also been interest from Juventus as well as Newcastle United.
Perr Schuurs is a 23-year-old Dutchman who possesses remarkable physical attributes. Standing at 1.91 meters (6 feet 3 inches) tall, he is a commanding and fearless defender. What makes this potential signing even more intriguing is that he is slightly younger than West Ham’s current center-back Konate, offering a long-term defensive solution with the possibility of future resale value.
In terms of his background, Perr Schuurs comes from an athletic family. His father, Lambert, played professional volleyball and represented the Netherlands, while his sister, Demi, is a professional tennis player. He himself played for Ajax from 2018 to 2022, winning three league titles during his time there. He has also represented the Netherlands at the under-19 and under-21 levels.
Looking at his playing style, Perr is known for his commanding presence on the pitch.
He possesses strong leadership qualities, evident in his ability to consistently perform the basics of defending, such as clearances, tackling, and intercepting. His statistics support these traits, as he averaged 39.8 passes per game and 3.2 clearances per game in the 27 appearances he made for Torino.
His performances have been described as incredible by Dutch media, with the latter suggesting that he deserves a call-up to the Netherlands national team in the near future.
A reported Є26 million bid was rejected by Torino earlier this month as they are looking for a fee of around Є35-40 million, which would be a huge return on their investment of the 9.4 million they spent to buy him. Little is known about the fact that Perr Schuurs was on trial at Anfield when he was only 17 but the club decided not to sign him and decided it was best for him to grow as a footballer back in his home country.
Liverpool are in desperate need of some recruitment this summer with both Van Dijk and Matip in their 30s and Gomez struggling to stay fit, a new center-back is exactly what Klopp needs. The exit of Liverpool’s 2020/21 center-back duo Nat Philips and Rhys Williams is also imminent. The Liverpool camp have also made it clear that they will not be looking for a right-back in the transfer market, even though Liverpool fans have been crying for their club to buy a decent right-back so that Trent can be pushed more into the midfield as he was many times during the later half of the season.
So it becomes clear that Liverpool will probably submit an improved bid and will try to acquire the services of the Dutch defender from the Italian side. Matching the fee won’t be a big deal for Liverpool right now as reports suggest they are willing to offload club captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, with the latter coming off a horrid season last campaign off to Saudi Arabia.
Although Liverpool also have to invest in replacing Fabinho, and a probable £50m transfer for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia seems on the cards.
It remains to be seen whether Schuurs becomes the third player to sign for Liverpool this summer after Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.