Teun Koopmeiners drops £51m transfer admission after Liverpool links as price tag issue emerges
The latest Liverpool transfer rumours as Dutch internationals Teun Koopmeiners and Joey Veerman have spoken about the moves they did and did not make this summer
After appointing Arne Slot as their new head coach, rumours swirled that Liverpool would be signing a host of Dutch players during the summer transfer window. Ultimately, no new Netherlands internationals joined Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch at Anfield before the deadline.
However, that may not have been for a lack of trying. The club reputedly showed an interest in Teun Koopmeiners and Joey Veerman, who have spoken about the transfer interest shown in them this summer during this international break.
Both received initial call-ups by Dutch coach Ronald Koeman for their Nations League games. However, the former did not make the final squad, and the latter pulled out through injury.
Tuesday subsequently saw Juventus present Koopmeiners as their new player after making a move in the final week of the window. During that press conference, he acknowledged: “Maybe yes, other clubs were interested in me this summer, but I was only interested in Juventus”.
Liverpool were linked with the then-Atalanta midfielder for much of this year before the transfer window opened and prior to Slot taking charge at Anfield. Joey Veerman was also another Dutchman linked with a move to the Reds, but unlike his compatriot, stayed put at PSV Eindhoven during the window.
Talking to ESPN in the Netherlands, the player acknowledged: “It’s their right, but PSV went very high [with their asking price]. That didn’t help me personally.
“In the end, there were some things; Marseille, a Premier League club and another club, but PSV did not agree.”
Veerman added: “The Premier League is not necessarily a dream for me. I would very much like to play in Spain or Italy as well. That always appeals to me.
“Life there is also important to me. It’s nice to play football there [from what] I hear from all kinds of guys in the Dutch national team.”