Loïc Rémy’s move to Liverpool was all but done: all the forward needed to do was complete his medical, and he’d be joining up with his new side. A press conference had even been planned to announce the new signing.
Rémy did complete his medical. However, he won’t be joining Liverpool. After spending days in Boston with the club’s medical staff -- the Reds are currently on tour in the U.S. -- “potential problems” have emerged, problems significant enough to prevent him from joining the team.
Now, Rémy will head back to Queens Park Rangers. And now, Harry Redknapp must figure out what to do next. Liverpool were set to buy the Frenchman on the cheap, thanks to a loophole found in Rémy’s contract, but it was still £8m (~$13.5m) that QPR were counting on. Thus far they’ve only supplemented their squad with the addition of two defenders -- Rio Ferdinand and Steven Caulker -- and were likely counting on more funds to bring in some fresh legs.
As for Liverpool, it’s back to the drawing board as their quest to replace Luis Suárez continues. Brendan Rodgers knows it will take more than one player to compensate for the loss of the Uruguayan, and finding Rémy on the cheap would’ve certainly been a help. The Reds also must deal with the loss of Adam Lallana, who will miss all of preseason and the start of the Premier League with a knee injury.