The transfer window is in full swing as Liverpool look to strengthen their squad.
And some sagas from yesteryear kept supporters on the edge of their seats throughout. Here the ECHO looks at the late
pursuit of Yevhen Konoplyanka, a player who the Reds tried to sign after missing out on Mohamed Salah for the first time.
For every successful transfer acquisition there is always one that gets away. Liverpool fans have felt it recently with the failed
pursuit of Jude Bellingham, before Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were signed. And it was certainly the case
when the Reds tried to sign Yevhen Konoplyanka in the January 2014 window.
The winger had already been crowned Ukrainian Football of the Year on three occasions when Liverpool came calling. When
the Reds’ first target, a certain FC Basel player called Mohamed Salah, agreed to join Chelsea, attention quickly turned to the
next man on their list. Plying his trade for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, he had a buy-out clause in his contract for £16m and
Liverpool were prepared to match it.
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But there was one rather major snag when it came to completing the deal – Dnipro president, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, simply
refused to sign off the deal as he didn’t want to lose his star player.
Speaking to Weszlo, Konoplyanka said: “I was crying. A delegation of serious people from Liverpool came to
Dnipropetrovsk. We ate dinner. They were (willing) to pay as much as (Dnipro owner) Ihor Kolomoyskyi wanted.
“Martin Skrtel wrote me a message: ‘We are waiting for you’. Steven Gerrard also gave me his blessing. I used to go to
Kolomoyskyi: ‘Please, please, please, let me go. It will make my dream come true’. I begged. Liverpool offered 25m euros
(£18m). But I didn’t feel disappointed about going to Sevilla (instead).”
In the end Liverpool’s CEO Ian Ayre and his delegation left the Ukraine empty handed, despite trying everything they could
to land their man.
In a separate interview with Tribuna, Dnipro CEO Andriy Stetsenko explained his side of the tale. He said: “For
Konoplyanka, whom Liverpool wanted to buy, a specific amount was assigned. The British club fought until the last (minute
to sign him). Then their representatives flew to us on a private jet for the final stage of negotiations. In case of a positive
outcome, Konoplyanka was supposed to fly away with them.
“(Liverpool) did not agree with the figure that was asked of them. Perhaps they thought that a private jet would make some
impression. That showed the seriousness of their intentions. (But Dnipro) did not go for a price reduction. As a result,
Liverpool flew away with nothing.”
With the deal dead in the water, Konoplyanka eventually joined Spanish side Sevilla the following summer and was part of
their squad that beat Liverpool in 2015-16 UEFA Europa League final 3-1 at the St. Jakob-Park, in Basel. But while the Reds’
first target Salah was eventually captured and has gone on to become an Anfield legend, 33-year-old Konoplyanka is now a
free agent after prolonging his career in Poland with Cracovia.
A version of this story was first published in July 2022
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