Rumoured Liverpool transfer target Joel Ordonez had ambitions of becoming a striker before being converted into a highly-rated centre-back, his former youth coach has revealed. The 21-year-old Club Brugge defender has been linked with a £43 million move to Anfield this January.
Ordonez's youth coach, Luis Medina, told Diario Expreso that the Ecuador international originally played up front. 'He was actually a striker,' Medina said. 'I felt he could be a great defender, because he was strong in one-on-one situations, positioned himself well, and won duels.'
Medina recalled convincing Ordonez to change position: 'He told me he wanted to score goals, and I replied that he could prevent them on defence, and scoring goals was too much of a responsibility.' The coach noted that Ordonez had good acceleration and long legs but was better suited to defending.
Liverpool have until February 2 to finalise any transfers. The Reds were also linked with Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo, but both are now targets for Manchester City. Guehi's proposed move to Anfield collapsed on deadline day last summer.
