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Caglar Soyuncu reportedly turned down Liverpool before leaving Leicester City for Atletico Madrid as a free agent this summer.
The Turkey international apparently had a falling out with Brendan Rodgers, and as a result, he barely played in the 2022-23 season. He made just seven Premier League appearances as his team were relegated to the Championship.
Soyuncu was one of the most in-demand free agents in England in the recently concluded transfer window. According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Anfield Watch), Liverpool and Newcastle United both made proposals, which he ultimately rejected.
Atletico Madrid put in a lot of groundwork to seal Soyuncu's signing on a free transfer. He is yet to start a game for Diego Simeone's club and has only made two second-half substitute appearances so far.
Soyuncu would have been a smart signing for both Liverpool and Newcastle. The 27-year-old is a tried and tested Premier League defender, making 98 appearances in the competition during his five years at the King Power Stadium.
Liverpool were apparently linked with a number of defenders as they looked to sign a player who could play in the left-sided centre-back role. Arthur Theate, Piero Hincapie and Levi Colwill were all looked at, but no deals materialized.
Liverpool currently have Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate as their centre-back options. But Van Dijk (32) cannot keep playing at the top level forever, while Konate, Gomez and Matip have all had their fair share of injuries on Merseyside.
Jurgen Klopp 'happy' with Liverpool's midfield options
Jurgen Klopp lost Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Naby Keita as free agents this summer. These were three midfield exits the Reds were prepared for.
What caught them off guard was Jordan Henderson and Fabinho's moves to the Saudi Pro League. It left them scampering in the transfer market for new midfielders and they formalized their interest in Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo.
The duo ultimately joined Chelsea, leaving the Reds with very few options in the market. Klopp's team signed Wataru Endo from VfB Stuttgart after the Premier League started and oversaw the arrival of Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich on deadline day.
Speaking of his team's options ahead of the away league game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 16, the German tactician said (h/t Liverpool Echo):
"I am happy, I was happy with the midfield over the years. Real men grew into it from younger players. Most successful players we had since I've been here and it is a big task to replace these guys but I am happy with what we've got."
The Reds also signed Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister early in the window for a combined £95 million fee.
