Richard Hughes planning to let two Liverpool fans favourites go – sources
Liverpool are planning to let Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Adrian leave the club at the end of the season, sources have told Football Insider.
Matip, 32, Thiago, 32, and Adrian, 37, are all out of contract in June and the Reds have no plans to offer them extensions.
The Reds’ owners’ new CEO of Football Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, who will become the new sporting director at the end of the season, are content with letting the trio depart.
It is believed that Jurgen Klopp could have helped the stars stay but the new regime won’t allow it, with Football Insider revealing (9 March) that a point of difference between Edwards, during his first spell at the club, and the manager was over the length of contracts handed to ageing players.
Liverpool trio Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip and Adrian are out of contract
Both Matip and Thiago, who are firm fans favourites and have had fine Liverpool careers, have been recovering from long-term injuries and neither have played a major role this season.
Matip suffered a crucial ligament tear in early December and looks set to miss the remainder of the season.
Thiago recovered from a long-term hip injury and returned to the field last month, but only lasted five minutes of their Premier League clash against Arsenal (4 February) before suffering a muscle injury.
Klopp admitted that he did not know if the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona star would feature again this season.
Adrian is firmly the third-choice among Liverpool’s goalkeepers and has made just two competitive appearances in the last three campaigns – none coming this season.
Liverpool sit second in the Premier League table and were most recently eliminated in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup by Man United on Sunday (17 March).
They are next in action against Brighton at Anfield on 31 March after the international break.
In other news, Liverpool news: Major update on Darwin Nunez injury after new assessment – sources.
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