Liverpool and Everton Compete for Jamie Leweling
Liverpool and Everton are locked in a late-window tug of war over Stuttgart forward Jamie Leweling, with both Merseyside clubs circling as the clock ticks towards the deadline.
Liverpool’s summer has already been heavy on business. Jeremy Jacquet has arrived from Stade Rennais for £55m, Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5m, Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona, Ifeanyi Ndukwe from Austria Vienna for £2.57m and Bradley Barcola from PSG in a blockbuster £106m move. It looked like there was room – and budget – for one more major attacking signing on the right.
That plan hinged on Cody Gakpo.
Manchester City tested Liverpool’s resolve with an £85m bid, and Gakpo was prepared to go. But as the hours slipped away and a suitable replacement failed to materialise, Liverpool shut the door.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Monday that Liverpool had decided to keep the Dutchman, with City now switching their attention to Iliman Ndiaye and Enzo Fernández. Gakpo stays. The right-wing “big deal” does not happen.
Yet the story on Merseyside isn’t finished.
Sky Deutschland report that Liverpool are attempting a late move for Jamie Leweling, one of Stuttgart’s standout performers last season and a player capable of operating anywhere across the front line. Everton, though, are already further down the road, having submitted a concrete proposal.
Leweling, 23 scorer points in 50 competitive games last season, has become one of the most coveted names in the VfB Stuttgart squad. The club know it. So does the player. So do Liverpool and Everton.
For now, the forward has not made a decision. Staying in Stuttgart remains a live option. Inside the club, there’s an acceptance that more offers are likely to land before Tuesday’s deadline, with interest described as “significant” from across Europe.
The intrigue is clear: Liverpool are watching, Everton are pushing, Stuttgart are braced, and Leweling is weighing up his next step.
Yet while the German reports link Liverpool with a late attacking swoop, the message from within Anfield is cooler.
According to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans and James Pearce, Liverpool are “unlikely to make another senior addition” in the wide areas before the window closes. The focus, instead, is drifting towards the next wave.
Two 18-year-olds are expected to come through the door. Genk goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans is close to joining in a €33m deal, with the plan to loan him straight back to the Belgian club for the rest of the season – unless late interest emerges in Giorgi Mamardashvili and forces a rethink in the goalkeeping department.
On the flanks, Liverpool have also agreed a fee of around €5m with Saint-Etienne for French under-20 winger Djylian N’Guessan. He is due to link up with the club next summer, another piece of long-term planning rather than a short-term fix.
So Liverpool stand at an interesting crossroads: a senior frontline that looks settled after the Gakpo decision, a youth recruitment drive that is gathering pace, and a tempting, if complicated, late opportunity in Leweling.
Everton have already made their move.
Liverpool must decide whether to turn interest into action – or let their neighbours take the gamble on one of the Bundesliga’s most sought-after forwards.
