Emre Can asks Juventus to wait until end of season to finalise deal so he can focus on Liverpool

Liverpool midfielder Emre Can has told Juventus he will wait until the end of the season before finalising an agreement with the Serie A champions, according to Tuttosport.

Can's contract at Anfield is set to expire at the end of the season and has been unable to agree a new contract with his current employers. The Guardian claimed in January that Juventus are confident of bringing the Germany international to Turin on a free transfer this summer, having offered him a salary worth £85,000 a week along with a sizable signing-on fee.

Jurgen Klopp has previously suggested the club are now powerless to stop the player leaving, telling BT Sport after a January win over Huddersfield Town: "I said it a few times, sometimes you want to sell a player, sometimes you want to keep a player and that is how it is. We can always make a big story in the world about it.

"If we have to do it then we shake hands and say goodbye. And if he stays we don't shake hands but say hello again. We will see."

A latest report from Tuttosport claims however Klopp is now consigned to losing Can this summer and will make no further attempts to try and convince him to stay.

The report adds that while Juventus are keen for the 23-year-old to sign a pre-contract agreement with them, Can has informed the club he wants to wait until the end of the season before committing his future to the Bianconeri in order to fully concentrate on the second half of Liverpool's 2017-18 season.

The Reds have practically confirmed their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after thrashing Porto 5-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie last week. And while Manchester City are runaway leaders in the race for the Premier League crown, Liverpool will be among the clutch of sides looking to finish in the top four, with just three spots to fight for between themselves, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal.