Gravenberch upgrade: Bargain wonderkid responds to Liverpool offer

9 Jun 2026 15:01 BST | 5 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Hertha BSC sensation Kennet Eichhorn has made his decision on a transfer to Liverpool following the club's lucrative contract offer.

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The 16-year-old is considered the biggest up-and-coming prospect in Germany, with some club chiefs around the Bundesliga cautiously comparing his talent level to that of a young Michael Ballack, who would go on to play for Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Eichhorn broke into the Hertha team last summer, before he had even turned 16 and became eligible to feature in pre-season friendlies. After his birthday, he would go on to feature regularly for the 2. Bundesliga side.

Current ETV

Kennet Eichhorn

DM (C)

Hertha

Kennet Eichhorn

DM (C)

Hertha

ETV Range

€7.3M - €9.8M

Despite his youth, Eichhorn more than held his own against players twice his age in the German second tier. Naturally, transfer speculation wasn't long in coming, with pretty much every major club around Europe keeping tabs on his performances.

In recent weeks, some favourites have crystallised. Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen have been pushing hard from the Bundesliga, while Premier League giants Man City and Liverpool have also made offers.

Eichhorn makes his decision

Man City seemingly fell by the wayside last week, with the Reds emerging as the favourites to sign the teenager. Contrary to some claims in the British press, it is possible for a Premier League side to acquire Eichhorn, despite his age.

Clubs are permitted to reach a pre-agreement that would result in the player joining after turning 18, while his current side would formally retain control of the player for the time being. That is how Tottenham signed Luka Vuskovic as a 16-year-old in 2023.

© IMAGO - Tottenham signed Luka Vuskovic as a 16-year-old

Spurs reached a pre-agreement with Hajduk Split to sign him after his 18th birthday. In the meantime, they coordinated his development with the Croatian side, with Vuskovic being sent out on loan to clubs in Poland and Belgium.

Liverpool were planning to do the same with Eichhorn. They copied Man City's plan of loaning the midfielder to Bayer Leverkusen for a season or potentially even two, and several directors at Bundesliga clubs had resigned themselves to missing out on the wonderkid.

The deal to take Eichhorn to Merseyside was likened to last year's transfer of Florian Wirtz, with Liverpool seemingly coming out of nowhere and ultimately winning the race.

However, in a surprising turn of events, Eichhorn has now decided to turn down a move to Liverpool, according to Sky Germany. The Reds made a strong financial and sporting offer, but the youngster is said to be keen to remain in Germany.

This has blown the race to sign him wide open again. Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig are pushing, while Bayern Munich have somewhat cooled their interest in recent weeks.

They would still love to sign him, but the deal has reportedly been blocked by club chiefs Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge due to concerns over the high signing-on fee demanded by the youngster's camp.

The actual transfer fee required to sign Eichhorn is extremely low: Liverpool would likely have had to pay between €10 million and €12m to trigger his release clause, while German clubs reportedly need to pay just around €8m. His clause expires on 15 June.

A huge blow for Liverpool

Eichhorn's rejection will hit Liverpool hard given his affordability and sky-high potential. He is widely considered to be among the best young prospects in Europe. This is also backed up by the data.

In terms of potential, Eichhorn ranks highly among U20 midfielders who have played regular senior football this season in the database of analytics firm SciSports. This potential is calculated by analysing hundreds of in-game data points.

Eichhorn also stacks up favourably against Liverpool's current crop of midfielders. Of course, his actual level is well below the elite of the Premier League - he is 16 after all - but his potential could see him become the Reds' best central midfielder.

If Eichhorn, a defensive-minded ball-winner, were to hit his ceiling, he would exceed the current levels of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, SciSports believes. Only Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz, listed as attacking midfielders, have a better current SciSkill rating.

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