Liverpool midfielder Emre Can has insisted that the delay in signing a new contract with the club is not down to financial disputes.
As noted by Sky Sports, reports had suggested that the German international was demanding to double his salary to move close to a £100,000-a-week deal. In turn, with the club unwilling to meet those demands, the two parties had reached a deadlock over a new contract.
However, Can has moved to dismiss those claims, but with just 15 months remaining on his current agreement, the 23-year-old will be keen to secure a new deal sooner rather than later.
“I read in newspapers it was about money, but it isn’t about money,” he said, as reported by Sky Sports. “We’ve had a few good meetings and everything is fine. I just wanted to say it is never about the money. It is about the future, what happens.
“You never know what will happen in football, but I am happy here. We will speak in the next few weeks and months and see what happens.
“The meetings are with my agent, but I am very happy at Liverpool. In the future I can play for many years at Liverpool.”
Can conceded that injury concerns have held him back in recent months, and in turn they’ve prevented him from playing the way he wants to freely in order to reach top form.
However, after scoring the winning goal for Liverpool in their victory over Burnley at the weekend, and with an extended opportunity to play the defensive midfield role in the absence of injured captain Jordan Henderson, he’ll hope to put together a strong run of form to end the season.
That will do his hopes of a new contract no harm, and while money isn’t a factor according to the former Bayer Leverkusen man, it will surely be a part of the problem otherwise negotiations would have been much smoother if it was just down to both parties wanting to continue working together.