Why Liverpool signed Fabinho instead of Thomas Partey

Former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards has revealed that the Reds had a keen interest in Thomas Partey in 2018 but had to settle for Fabinho from AS Monaco after failed negotiations with Atletico Madrid.

In a chat with Ghanaian journalist, Collins Attah Poku, Edwards revealed that Thomas Partey was top of Liverpool's defensive midfield list as he came top in all their metrics, while Fabinho, their eventual signee, was second.

Edwards said that he went as far as speaking to Partey but the deal collapsed because Atletico Madrid were not ready to let go of the Ghanaian.

"We looked at his statistics and when we put it in our data, he was the most dominant defensive midfielder for our game in Europe. So I flew to Spain to speak to him but Atletico Madrid were not ready to play ball," Michael Edwards is quoted to have said.

Liverpool subsequently pursued a deal for Fabinho in a transfer worth more than £40 million.

The Reds went on to win UEFA Champions League, Premier League, UEFA Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup and other trophies with the Brazilian playing a key role before leaving in 2023.

Thomas Partey, on the other hand, joined Arsenal two years after the failed move. He is presently in his fourth season with the Gunners.

Watch as Atta Poku talks about Thomas Partey's failed move to Liverpool below:



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