Liverpool was reportedly prepared to pay a significant amount of money to get Macedonian midfielder Eljif Elmas, but Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis refused to sell him to the Premier League team.

The midfield player was supposedly valued at $33 million by Liverpool in 2023, but current Italy manager Luciano Spalletti, a former Napoli manager, thought highly of him. Elmas is rumored to have been approached directly by Jurgen Klopp in December 2022, but the transaction fell through because of Spalletti's intense respect for Elmas. According to Corriere dello Sport, "Mr. Luciano [Spalletti] used to describe him as 'the light of my eyes.'" Liverpool, an English team, was keen to acquire him and had even offered 30 million euros ($33 million) for his registration; however, Napoli firmly and resolutely refused."