Forgotten ex-Liverpool man could help Reds to net 7-figure sum if one thing happens this summer

A player whose last Liverpool appearance came more than a decade ago could indirectly help to provide a boost to his former club this summer.

As reported by Corriere dello Sport (via LaLazioSiamoNoi), Luis Alberto is set to depart Lazio this summer and reportedly has interest from clubs in Qatar, although none have yet pledged to meet the Serie A club’s €15m (£12.8m) asking price.

The Biancoclesti are holding out for that amount primarily because they won’t receive the full fee from his sale, as the Reds are due to receive 25% of the cut because of a clause which was inserted in his transfer to Rome from Anfield in 2016.

Should any prospective suitor agree to pay what Lazio want for the midfielder, Liverpool would duly pocket at least €3.75m (£3.2m) from the transaction.

Alberto was on Liverpool’s books for three years but only spent one season with the Reds (2013/14), having been loaned out for the following two terms before he was sold to the Serie A outfit in 2016.

He played just 12 times under Brendan Rodgers, with his total game-time coming in at a paltry 258 minutes, a number which is 49 lesser than his tally of appearances for Lazio (Transfermarkt).

If LFC bank just over £3m once the 31-year-old is eventually sold by the Biancocelesti, it won’t suddenly transform Arne Slot’s transfer budget overnight, but the additional income could potentially tip the scales when it comes to landing a prpsective incoming.

Despite the Spaniard hardly getting a look-in at Anfield, Liverpool must’ve seen some bit of potential in him if they inserted a sell-on clause when moving him on to the Serie A club, in the belief that his market value could rise substantially further down the line.

Alberto’s name could be largely forgotten in the annals of LFC history, but his contribution to the Reds may yet extend beyond those mere dozen appearances 10 seasons ago, should a suitor satisfy Lazio’s valuation of the midfielder.