Liverpool have ruled out signing Werder Bremen captain Max Kruse - not wanting to block the pathway for Rhian Brewster while also having been impressed by the recent form of Divock Origi.
The German striker was linked with the Reds as a potential back-up to Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane with Daniel Sturridge departing Anfield this summer.
The 31-year-old is out of contract and will be moving on a free transfer, however, the ECHO understands Kruse is not someone manager Jurgen Klopp is looking to add to his fold.
Kruse is an ageing frontman and the Reds would clearly rather put their faith in the young Brewster as a promising up and coming talent.
The club will also hope Origi puts pen to paper on a new contract and extends his stay with Liverpool while continuing to make a huge impact in similar vein to the way he did last season.
Despite the fact the Reds are not looking to sign Kruse, it doesn't mean they aren't actively looking at potential forwards for this summer and beyond, it simply means they will only sign a player if they are a good fit and the deal is right.
Liverpool took a similar stance to the signing of Timo Werner last summe r, refusing to spend big on the German attacker with Klopp impressed with the development of Brewster.
As the ECHO reported earlier this year , Klopp is not looking to spend huge amounts in the market this summer, with the Reds boss merely happy to tweak his Champions League-winning squad.
Liverpool finished their Premier League campaign with a club-record 97 points last term and Klopp believes only minor surgery is needed in his ranks this transfer window.
That means a spending spree akin to last summer's £170million splurge on Alisson, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita won't be repeated this time around.
