Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is reportedly keen for Emre Can to stay at the club and hopes that the ongoing contract standoff over high wage demands can be overcome.
According to the Liverpool Echo, further talks are planned for the end of the season and Klopp is looking for a 'compromise' following an initial demand from Can's representatives to double his existing weekly salary to £100,000.
Can will soon enter the final 12 months of the four-year contract he signed when he first arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen in 2014. But as a relatively young player who is yet to establish himself as an automatic starter, there seems obvious reluctance from Liverpool to pay so much.
Can, who spent much of his first season in England operating as a third centre-back for departed Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, is still to prove himself.
With Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson still Klopp's preferred starting midfielders and Adam Lallana the chief creative force behind forward trio Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, it has been absences and reshuffles that have given Can most of his chances.
He remains a good squad player, though, and that would appear to be where Klopp is coming from in terms of his desire to keep his fellow countryman.
While Liverpool have a strong starting XI, the squad generally lacks depth compared to rivals and the club's hopes of silverware have been badly hurt when injuries, suspensions or international duty have ruled key individuals out of action.
Having more players like Can around to fill the holes when they appear is vitally important, just not at a cost of £100,000-per-week.
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