Manager has ‘confirmed’ Liverpool attempted a late transfer for shock target

Liverpool are claimed to have attempted a deal for Mexican winger Cesar Huerta during the summer transfer window, though their move ultimately fell through.

Reports of Liverpool’s interest in Huerta, a left winger playing for Club Universidad, emerged from Mexico at the end of August.

The club, better known as Pumas, were reported by TUDN to have “made it easy” for the 23-year-old to secure his move to England, with an agreement “very close.”

Plans were in place for Huerta to Travel to the UK to finalise a transfer, which would have come just before Friday’s deadline.

However, it is claimed to have broken down after Sunderland rejected a proposed loan move, with Liverpool’s plan being to send him out for the season before a return to Anfield next summer.

That story has been backed up by Pumas manager Gustavo Lema, who confirmed the Reds’ interest in his player in a press conference after Monday’s 3-1 loss to Tigres.

“El Chino was scouted by one of the best clubs in the world and that is a source of pride,” Lema told reporters per TUDN.

“What are you going to tell people? That you have a player who was scouted by Liverpool?

“No, people want to win and that is their right. We cannot tell people anything.”

Lema inferred that the deal would not have been a popular one among Pumas fans, with Huerta their leading sources of goals last season, scoring 12 and assisting nine in 41 appearances.

He has begun the new campaign with two goals in five Games, with the Mexico international playing the majority of his Games for the club on the left wing.

The prospect of Liverpool signing a 23-year-old from Liga MX before sending him out on loan to the Championship is a strange one.

That is particularly the case given Arne Slot‘s squad is well-stocked on the left flank, with Cody Gakpo currently unable to get a start due to the form of Luis Diaz.

Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are both capable of operating on the left, though the head coach believes they are natural strikers, while new signing Federico Chiesa has experience there too.

But Liverpool’s owners are clearly open to exploring opportunities in the market, particularly given their plans to expand with the purchase of another club – where, feasibly, Huerta could have been sent.

It seems unlikely they will revisit a deal with Pumas now, though it is not entirely out of the question.

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