Liverpool receives another transfer blow

Liverpool’s hopes of getting Marco Asensio has received a huge blow after the Spain international said he has no intention of quitting Madrid.  According to Goal’s Joe Wright, there have been reports Inter are considering making a bid for the 22-year-old in January.

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But Gaggioli said Asensio has no plans to leave the Santiago Bernabeu, per FC Inter News (h/t Wright): “It’s an honour if a club like Inter are interested in Marco. I don’t know if it’s true, but for now the player has no intention of leaving Madrid.” It has been a difficult 2018-19 for Real Madrid so far.  They were crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions for the third year running on Saturday as they beat Al Ain 4-1 in Abu Dhabi.

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But a poor start to the campaign saw Julen Lopetegui sacked back in October, and Real are still eight points behind leaders Barcelona in La Liga.  A lack of goals has been a real problem for Los Blancos. They are currently averaging just 1.5 goals per game in La Liga. Their overall average for the previous nine full league seasons was over 2.8 per game. The obvious problem is Real no longer have Cristiano Ronaldo on their books after he departed for Juventus in the summer. But there have also been struggles for the remaining members of the squad, including Asensio.

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Under former manager Zinedine Zidane, the Spain international emerged as one of the most exciting young attackers in Europe. In 2017-18 he contributed either a goal or an assist every 154 minutes in the Spanish top flight. This season that average is at 499, as he has returned just one goal and one assist in 16 La Liga appearances. Clearly, though, he is not looking for a route out of the Bernabeu, and current Real manager Santiago Solari will be hoping to see Asensio return to form in the second half of 2018-19. He is still only very young, so fluctuations in form are to be expected.

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