Liverpool are well-documented to have a new centre-back on their transfer wishlist this summer, with Levi Colwill believed to be one of their leading targets.
The Reds are known-admirers of the England Under-21s international, with reports in London claiming they have made multiple enquiries regarding the availability of the Chelsea centre-back. However, the capital-based club reportedly don’t want to sell the 20-year-old, with Colwill set to hold talks with new manager Mauricio Pochettino regarding his future later this month.
Colwill isn’t the only centre-back who has been linked with a move to Anfield though, with the Chelsea defender’s future still up in the air with it unclear whether he will be persuaded to sign a new deal and stay put at Stamford Bridge. While club sources have dismissed speculation crediting the Reds with interest in Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard and Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio, and interest in VfL Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven has seemingly cooled, links to Torino’s Perr Schuurs persist.
Reports in Italy even claimed that Liverpool have had multiple offers rejected for the Dutchman this summer, with their latest bid said to be worth £25.7m. Torino are claimed to be holding out for £34.3m, though the latest reports on the continent suggest Crystal Palace have tested the Serie A side’s resolve with a £30m bid.
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Liverpool are continuing to assess their options regards a new centre-back with the 23-year-old having been on the radar of the Reds recruitment team for several years.
Starting his senior career with Eerste Divisie side Fortuna Sittard in his native Netherlands, Schuurs actually had a trial with Liverpool back in May 2017, when just 17 years old, with a view to a summer move. He trained with the Reds’ Under-18s side, then managed by Steven Gerrard, with reports in Holland suggesting he also trained with the Under-21s and played in some behind-closed-doors practice games.
"Liverpool informed us they were very satisfied about how Perr performed there,” the defender's father, Lambert, told 1Limburg following his son’s trial. “The club are preparing a report and will share that with Fortuna Sittard. So we'll wait for now.
"I have spoken with Steven Gerrard, who is now a youth coach. He is special to Perr. That was of course very good. But he remains very calm.
"We do not know yet what Liverpool will do. And then it's up to Perr what he wants. We know that he is still far from a ready-to-use player, so he should not skip steps."
Despite Liverpool being impressed by the defender, they did not sign him permanently, with Schuurs later agreeing to join Ajax in January 2018 - though he finished that season with Fortuna Sittard.
"There were several clubs interested and I also spoke with other clubs,” he said after completing the move, alluding to his Anfield trial. “But my feeling at Ajax was immediately very good. I think that’s important."
Since signing for the Dutch giants, links with the Reds have persisted sporadically. And after Liverpool were drawn against Ajax in the Champions League group-stages in 2020/21, Schuurs was asked about speculation linking him with a move to Anfield following his impressive displays against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
“Interest from Liverpool in me? I am not busy with that,” he said. “I want to win trophies with Ajax first and stay here for a couple of seasons.”
A three-time Eredivisie champion in Amsterdam, Schuurs’ agent, George Gardu, would also confirm Liverpool’s interest in his client. Following the Dutchman’s move to Torino in an £8m deal in August 2022, he said: “Clubs of the calibre of Tottenham, Liverpool and PSG moved to take the player.
“In addition to Liverpool, Tottenham and PSG, three Italian clubs also wanted Schuurs. Thanks to Torino, I am sure Schuurs can become a pillar of the Dutch national team.”
Schuurs remains uncapped by the Netherlands, but impressed enough during his maiden season with Torino as he made 33 appearances and helped his club secure a 10th-place finish in Serie A. But whether his stay in Italy ends up lasting just one season remains to be seen.
If Liverpool are indeed interested in signing the Dutchman, it wouldn’t be the first time they have revisited previous interest in a player. The Reds initially missed out on the likes of Mohamed Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri before bringing them to Anfield years later, while Klopp was left rueing his decision not to sign Sadio Mane for Borussia Dortmund, before righting the wrong in the summer of 2016.
Meanwhile, Liverpool interest in the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker was long-standing with both players continually monitored long before making their eventual own moves to Anfield.
It would be easy to dismiss overseas reports linking the Reds with Schuurs as just the latest round of on-off speculation that has followed player and club ever since his trial six years ago. But with Liverpool bosses also inevitably following his progress over the years, it also makes sense why he could be on their radar.
Schuurs might not have been a 'ready-to-use' player back on 2017 when on trial with the Reds, but, six years on, it's safe to say that he certainly is now. But whether that's enough for him to find his way back to Liverpool as they up their next centre-back signing, only time will tell.
