60 Million Euros for One Goal? Valencia Is Playing Chicken with Liverpool

Liverpool is still in search of a long-term right winger after talks with Yankuba Minteh and Ismaïla Sarr failed before the summer window closed. With Mohamed Salah having departed and Bradley Barcola strengthening the opposite flank, the Reds still have a recruitment decision to make on the right-wing.

David Otorbi has emerged as a reported target, but Valencia have moved to strengthen their negotiating position. According to Valencian outlet Tribuna Deportiva, reportedly Liverpool indicated they wanted to trigger the 19-year old’s 30 Million Euros release clause. Valencia answered back by activating a contract extension that ties him to 2031, plus raising his salary; thus, the new release clause is 60 Million Euros. 

First, a bit of caution. The Liverpool half of this story rests on Tribuna Deportiva alone. The contract development has stronger backing: Plaza Deportiva independently reported that Valencia would extend Otorbi’s deal until 2031 and raise his release clause to 60 million Euros. However, the new terms should not be described as officially confirmed unless Valencia has announced them. 

Credit to Valencia, though; they were sharp on the uptake. The extension was already in his contract and would have kicked in once he played ten games of at least 45 minutes, so they simply decided to press forward on the plan and slammed a double price of any other club deciding to play the release clause option. That is a club looking after its best young asset, and fair play to them. He’s a product of their academy and was their youngest-ever debutant at 16, and he has played in eight of their nine league games.

Valencia’s decision has doubled Otorbi’s reported release clause from 30 million to 60 million without any corresponding change in his on-field ability. For Liverpool, that shifts the decision from whether the winger is worth a developmental investment to whether his potential justifies a substantially higher upfront cost.

So the question is, is he worth 60 million Euros? Not yet. One senior goal doesn’t pay for that. But Salah is gone, and Liverpool are still hunting for a right winger to replace him. According to DaveOCKOP, bids for Yankuba Minteh and Ismalia Sarr were both knocked back this summer, and money isn’t the issue, since Liverpool fielded a 350 million Pounds front line at Brentford last weekend. Victor Munoz, Gakpo and Ngumoha are covering the right for now, but there is still no long-term solution there. 

Otorbi is not short of other admirers as well! Nacho Gallart, his agent, told MARCA that plenty of clubs have called, especially from the Premier League, and MARCA also reports that two Newcastle representatives watched him at Racing Santander. Newcastle lost out on Munoz to Liverpool in the summer, so they would love a rematch. Gallart also stressed that Otorbi’s priority is playing time at Valencia, which makes the extension an easy sell and helps explain why Valencia moved so fast.

My view is that Valencia is playing chicken with Liverpool, and not flinching is the best strategy. 60 Million Euros is a sticker price, not a wall, and a club that doubles a clause in days clearly expects offers. DaveOCKOP says Liverpool’s recruitment staff are tracking options for January and next summer, so there is time. Watch whether he is a regular under Aguirre, and if he is, the fee looks more sensible by the summer. If he is back on the bench, walk away. 

Liverpool knocked, Valencia answered, and the price just doubled. The next move is up to the Reds.