Will Kevin Schade join Liverpool? Shock Brentford transfer ‘possible’ for German winger – Football Whispers Index score

Kevin Schade continues to catch the eye as Brentford put together one of their best starts in years, with the winger contributing to an unbeaten run under Keith Andrews.

Brentford have responded to the growing interest by opening talks over a new contract, while Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are all credited with scouting the 24-year-old.

Liverpool's own pursuit is more complicated than the others, with four left-sided wide options already on their books since Mohamed Salah's departure left a gap on the opposite flank instead.

Kevin Schade to Liverpool rated ‘possible'

The Football Whispers Index scores every transfer rumour across five weighted factors. Read how it works here.

The Football Whispers Index weighs five things: whether Liverpool can afford the deal, whether they actually need Schade, whether he would want the move, whether Brentford have any real incentive to sell, and how seriously the story is being reported.

The clearest point in Liverpool's favour is financial comfort, a deal they could do comfortably if they chose to.

The clearest point against is that Schade would be a fifth option on a flank Liverpool are already well stocked for, while their actual vacancy sits on the opposite side of the pitch.

Financial viability

Money is not the obstacle here, since Liverpool's revenue dwarfs Schade's valuation to the point that a fee well above his current €36.8m rating would still be a routine piece of business for a club of their scale.

Two years remaining on his Brentford contract arguably works in Liverpool's favour rather than against them, since a selling club's leverage over the price tends to erode the closer a deal runs to its final year.

The gap between Schade's current £35,000 a week and the money commanded by Liverpool's senior earners suggests wages will not be the sticking point, whatever fee Brentford eventually demand.

Buying club need

Liverpool's actual vacancy sits on the right, the side Mohamed Salah occupied for nine years before his departure at the end of last season, not the left where Schade has built his career.

Chiesa was the obvious candidate to fill that gap and has barely had the chance, which says more about his own fitness and form than it does about any shortage of bodies on Liverpool's left.

Signing a fifth left-sided option while the right flank remains unsettled is the kind of move that invites exactly the scrutiny this rumour has already attracted.

Player motivation

Stepping from a club chasing a top-half finish to one that has been champions more recently than almost anyone else in the league is not a hard sell in principle.

What is less certain is whether a move would actually get him on the pitch more often, since joining a four-deep left flank is a harder route to minutes than staying first-choice at Brentford.

There has been no word from Schade's own camp on any of this, and until his stance surfaces in reporting rather than being assumed from the appeal of the move, that side of the picture stays unclear.

Selling club incentive

This is where the rumour runs into its biggest obstacle, since Brentford's public position is not that they are open to offers, it is that they are actively trying to extend him.

Being ready to raise his wages is a step up from simply opening talks, and it is the clearest sign yet that Brentford see this as a fight worth having rather than a formality.

Brentford's history of letting developed talent leave for a fee shows they are not sentimental about a big sale when the moment suits them, but right now every public signal points toward keeping Schade rather than preparing to lose him.

Market momentum

This is not a rumour resting on a single tweet or a lone tabloid line, a recognised tier-one reporter put his name to the original story.

Three separate outlets have since added their own reporting on top rather than simply repeating the first, and a third Premier League club joining the chase is a stronger signal than any one of those reports alone.

Schade's rising profile with Germany under a new head coach only adds to the sense that his stock is moving in one direction, whatever Brentford manage to do about his contract..

Kevin Schade to Liverpool: Will or won't it happen?

Liverpool have the means to do this deal, but the profile fit is the weakest part of the case, not the strongest, and that is unusual for a rumour generating this much coverage.

It happens if Brentford's wage offer fails to land and a club comes forward willing to meet an asking price built on Schade's current form, wherever that interest ultimately comes from.

It stalls if Brentford's new terms succeed, or if Liverpool keep adding to a left flank that was already crowded before this rumour started.