Liverpool transfers: Sunderland to blame for blocking winger's Anfield move

The current club manager of Mexican star Cesar Huerta has revealed how close the winger came to signing for Liverpool.

In a stormy press conference dominated by reaction to Pumas UNAM's shock 3-1 home defeat to Tigres in Mexico's Apertura competition, under-fire coach Gustavo Lema explained why one of his top attacking talents - valued at €3.7 million by FootballTransfers' Estimated Transfer Value - missed out on a headline-making move to Merseyside.

“’El Chino’ was scouted by one of the best clubs in the world and that is a source of pride,” declared Lema, who otherwise had to handle questions about poor form and fan unrest.

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Lema continued: “What are you going to tell people? That you have a player who was scouted by Liverpool?

“No, people want to win and that is their right. We cannot tell people anything.”

BLACK CATS BLOCK PUMAS' TRANSFER PLAN

The Pumas boss claimed Huerta’s switch to Arne Slot’s exciting Liverpool side was actually blocked by another English club, Sunderland, who were unwilling to fulfil their part of the transfer plan, to receive the 23-year-old for an acclimatising loan spell.

It seems surprising if the Black Cats did throw a spanner in the works – when they previously took a winger on loan from a top-flight club, Amad from Manchester United, the Ivory Coast international was a huge success and won the club’s Young Player of the Year award in 2022/23.

Sunderland’s reluctance to benefit from Huerta’s talents means the winger will remain in his homeland and try to help Pumas turn their fortunes around.

He’s a reliable source of goal contributions, with 17 strikes and 11 assists in 75 appearances so far, and has appeared nine times for Mexico’s senior side, scoring once.

Even though Liverpool have recently signed Federico Chiesa, another player in his position, Huerta could be one to keep tabs on for future transfer windows as the Anfield hierarchy prepare for life after Mohamed Salah.