Liverpool didn't sign Dele Alli because they didn't think he was worth £5m

Former CEO Ian Ayre confirmed they didn't think such a deal would've represented good value for money at the time while geography stopped them getting a deal for Alexis Sanchez done

Ben Burrows
Thursday 27 April 2017 09:40 BST
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Dele Alli could've been a Liverpool player
Dele Alli could've been a Liverpool player

Liverpool chose not to sign Dele Alli because they didn't think he was worth the money, claims former CEO Ian Ayre.

The England man came through the ranks at MK Dons before Tottenham stumped up £5million to bring him to White Hart Lane in January 2015.

Alli has gone to become one of the best midfielders in the Premier League scoring 21 goals in all competitions this term sparking suggestions he could one day be a £100million player.

But Ayre says the Reds didn't feel the then 18-year-old, a lifelong Liverpool fan, was worth the investment.

"We didn't feel the player matched that demand," he said at a lecture in Liverpool.

"It's easy to sit and say "look what you could have bought", but how many players could you apply the reverse of that to? That's the truth."

Following the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona in 2014 the Reds infamously failed persuade Alexis Sanchez to swap Catalunya for Merseyside as his direct replacement with the Chilean instead choosing Arsenal.

But despite offering more money Ayre, who is now general manager at 1860 Munich, reveals there was very little the club could do to change the player's mind with Sanchez's heart set on London.

"There was much publicised interest in Alexis Sanchez, as part of the deal which saw Luis go to Barcelona, and that deal was done - the only reason it wasn't was that the player and his wife wanted to live in London," he added.

"We couldn't move the football club to London unfortunately!"

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