With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the future of Liverpool midfielder Emre Can is very much up in the air for now.
The 23-year-old joined the Reds in 2014 and has made big strides in his career under Jurgen Klopp as he has also established himself as a regular for Germany.
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Can has made 40 or more appearances in each of his campaigns at Anfield, and the development in his game has been evident as he has become more defensively sound in providing coverage in midfield while his powerful style of play allows him to be an offensive threat too.
However, The Mirror have cast major doubt over his future at Liverpool, as ultimately he has seven months remaining on his current contract and there is no suggestion that he is close to agreeing on new terms.
In fact, the report notes that while the German international wants to be around the same wage bracket as teammate Philippe Coutinho which is around £160,000-a-week, Liverpool won’t go above £75,000-a-week for players not amongst their most prized assets.
That’s a significant disparity, and so if these are the figures involved, then it would certainly raise serious question marks over Can’s future on Merseyside.
It’s added that Bayern Munich and Juventus are both interested in Can, but ultimately the question has to be asked if they can afford, or are willing to offer, that kind of money either?
As argued above, he has undoubtedly established himself as a key figure for club and country, and with age on his side, he’s only going to get better. Nevertheless, that’s still a lot of money to be investing in him with so much more to prove before he reaches the top level and is arguably deserving of that kind of wage packet.