The curious case of Emre Can
In the summer of 2014, Liverpool spent a total of £107m to sign seven players after th departure of Luis Suarez to Camp Nou. Among many others like Lallana, Lovren, Balotelli, and Moreno, the 20-year-old German arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for £9.75m, acquired by Rodgers after activating his release clause.
Emre impressed Rodgers as an energetic box-to-box midfielder and was an essential player In Leverkusen's run up to finish 4th in the Bundesliga that season. Can was described as a combative and athletic midfielder by Ben Smith of BBC at the time of his arrival.
Can's start to the Anfield life was a bit awkward as he was mostly deployed out of position, mainly on the right side of a back three. It even took a while for the people in England to discover how to pronounce his name correctly (which is 'Eh-me-ray Jan' by the way).
He scored his first Liverpool goal with a long-range effort against Chelsea in a 2-1 defeat, which was also his only goal of the season. Though he was mainly playing in the defense, Can showed his love to get forward whenever possible, making dominant runs through the midfield like a tank.
Upon the arrival of Jurgen Klopp in October 2015, Can was reinstated in the midfield and has since matured as a footballer. Having been deployed as a central midfielder, with Henderson taking charge as a Number 6, Can mostly played through a pain barrier for eight months, which could have been a reason for his unhappiness and him not signing a contract extension.
Earlier, Can had mentioned that he feels comfortable as a holding midfielder, the position he has taken up and flourished in after Henderson's injuries since Feb 2017.
Since his arrival at Anfield, Emre Can has been a critical cog in the first team - having made 40 appearances in 2014-15, 49 appearances in 2015-16, 40 appearances in 2016-17 and 33 appearances so far in 2017-18.
This season, Emre Can has clocked a total of 1887 minutes with a pass accuracy of 85.67% and 0.2 assists with 1.3 shots and 0.15 goals per 90 minutes. While defending, Can has made 3.15 tackles and 1.45 interceptions per 90 minutes and has won 2.15 aerial duels as well (source). No wonder Juventus, Real Madrid, and Man City are looking to lure away the midfielder from Anfield (source).
Liverpool are still hopeful to see Emre Can sign an extension and remain at Anfield for his best years, with him assuring fans that he hasn't signed anything and is still talking to everyone, including Liverpool for a possible extension.
But with all the clubs he's linked to, would he be the first name on the team-list? Juventus has options like Pjanic, Khedira, Marchisio, and Matuidi. Similarly, Real Madrid have Modric, Kovacic, Kroos, Asensio, and Casemiro in their ranks. With Can being only 24, it seems he'd be more of a signing for the future than someone who'd go into the first-team immediately.
Can certainly is worth all the interest he is garnering from clubs around the world - he has been playing for the national team and is a regular at Liverpool with a German manager who believes in him and has helped improve his game. He's playing week-in-week-out, the fans love him and simply cannot fathom why he would be wanting a move away from the club.
Juventus are certainly pressurising Can by issuing an ultimatum to make up his mind in seven days, and with interest from Real Madrid and Man City, it will be interesting how his transfer saga unfolds over the coming months.