Liverpool and Everton Battle for Jamie Leweling Before Deadline

Liverpool and Everton are locked in a late-window tug of war over Stuttgart forward Jamie Leweling, with both Merseyside clubs circling as the deadline looms.

The chase comes at the end of an already lavish summer at Anfield. Liverpool have rebuilt aggressively: 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 £106m blockbuster.

For weeks, the plan had been clear. If Cody Gakpo left, a major right-wing signing would follow.

Manchester City tested that resolve. They pushed an £85m bid onto Liverpool’s desk and, crucially, Gakpo was ready to go. He had accepted the move. The path was open.

Then the market closed in around Liverpool.

Fabrizio Romano revealed on Monday that the club had decided to keep the Dutchman after failing to identify or secure a suitable replacement. He reported that Liverpool rejected City’s £85m offer, with Gakpo now “ready to continue” at Anfield, while City turn their attention to Ndiaye and Enzo Fernández.

So the big outgoing is off. Yet the phones at Anfield have not gone quiet.

Sky Deutschland report that Liverpool are still trying to bring in Jamie Leweling from Stuttgart before the window shuts, even if the odds are against another senior attacking arrival. Everton, for their part, have already gone a step further and lodged a concrete proposal for the 23-year-old, who can operate across the entire front line.

Leweling has not made up his mind. Staying put is still on the table.

Stuttgart know exactly what they have. Last season, Leweling emerged as one of VfB’s standout performers, racking up 23 goal contributions across 50 competitive games. That output has turned him into one of the most coveted players in the Swabian club’s squad, and the German side are braced for more offers right up to Tuesday’s deadline.

Whether that interest turns into a late move remains unclear. The clock is ticking, the suitors are known, but the player’s future is still in play.

Yet the noise around Leweling jars with the message from inside Liverpool.

According to a joint report from Gregg Evans and James Pearce in The Athletic, Liverpool are “unlikely to make another senior addition” in the wide areas before the window closes. The club’s big-money business appears done. Any late moves, they suggest, will be about the future rather than the here and now.

That future has two names attached.

• First, Lucca Brughmans. The 18-year-old goalkeeper from Genk is close to joining for around €33m. The plan is simple: sign him, then immediately loan him back to the Belgian club for the rest of the season. The only scenario that might alter that is if late interest emerges in current keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
• Then comes Djylian N’Guessan. Liverpool have agreed a fee worth around €5m with Saint-Etienne for the 18-year-old winger, a France under-20 international. He will not arrive immediately, with the deal structured so that he links up with Liverpool next summer.

So Liverpool stand at an intriguing crossroads: a senior frontline that looks settled after the Gakpo decision, a youth pipeline being aggressively stocked, and a late-window flirtation with Leweling that may yet fizzle out.

Everton have made their move. Liverpool are watching, interested but publicly cautious.

If Leweling does jump, which side of Stanley Park will he choose – the established Champions League chasers, or the neighbours desperate for a game-changer?