Liverpool nearly signed Son Heung-min before Tottenham move
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Speaking on "Running the Game", Graham explained that Liverpool's data-driven recruitment team had ranked both Roberto Firmino and Son as their top striker targets during Brendan Rodgers' reign.
Firmino would arrive at Anfield in 2015 and go on to become a club legend, but Son slipped away, joining Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen that same summer.
Firmino In, Son Lost
Graham admitted that Liverpool's analysts had identified Son as the ideal attacking partner to Firmino.But Rodgers opted instead for Christian Benteke, despite strong warnings from the club's recruitment staff.
In an alternative timeline, Son and Firmino would be Liverpool's frontline.Benteke lasted just one season before being sold to Crystal Palace, whilst Son went on to establish himself as one of the Premier League's most dangerous forwards.
Firmino and Son were our one and two choices for strikers, but Son ended up going to Spurs and we got Christian Benteke instead.
A Painful 'What If'
Whilst Liverpool eventually struck gold with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, Graham's comments underline the fine margins in recruitment.Had Son joined Firmino at Anfield in 2015, the Reds' attack in the mid-2010s could have looked very different - perhaps accelerating the club's return to the elite years before Klopp's Champions League and Premier League triumphs.
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