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It's Wednesday afternoon, and an otherwise humdrum day has been enlivened - if that's the word - by a Twitter spat between a Liverpool legend and a previous unknown.

Unknown, that is, until a tweet, endorsed briefly by his client Bobby Duncan, shot agent Saif Rubie to global prominence.

Duncan wanted out. Liverpool weren't letting him. And, according to Rubie, it was all down to Liverpool's sporting director Michael Edwards.

Jamie Carragher wasn't having that.

"There is a problem and it's you," he tweeted Rubie in an increasingly lively exchange. "You take on the most powerful person at the club besides Klopp?!! Madness. Clubs will never deal with you again."

Rubie responded "you talking about glorified data analyst Michael Edwards?" before suggesting Edwards didn't know Kevin Prince-Boateng was a midfielder and not a forward, despite all bar two of the Ghanaian's club starts since the summer of 2018 having been as a centre forward.

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By the end of the week, Rubie had deleted his Twitter account.

And while, by the end of today, Duncan's agent will have got his wish of a move to Fiorentina for the youngster, it will have been very much on the terms of Liverpool and Edwards.

Among the inflammatory allegations made by Rubie was a claim Liverpool had rejected an offer from the Italians of a season-long loan with an option to buy.

That part was true. Liverpool viewed the approach as essentially allowing Fiorentina to take the player on trial for a year with no commitment to buy and no penalties if he didn't feature, making the move of little value to the Reds or the player.

(Image: Linda Pizutti / Instagram)

Instead, Edwards has helped negotiate a better offer for all concerned, with Liverpool now poised to receive €2million for a permanent transfer, along with a 20% sell-on clause, ensuring they may benefit if the player delivers on his undoubted promise.

Claims from Rubie suggesting the player had not been handled with necessary care by the club appear in total contrast with that as well as any previous evidence from other players, whether former or current.

That Edwards and Liverpool have sought a suitable resolution despite the behaviour of Rubie goes against his suggestion the Reds would keep the player until January regardless.

Indeed, it will be interesting to see if the strongest among his catalogue of allegations are followed up with an official complaint now the agent has helped hasten the departure of his client.

What is certain is Duncan's dream of featuring for his boyhood club is over. It would take a remarkable series of events for him ever to return to Liverpool.

And it's his second untidy departure from a leading club inside 15 months, having trained away from Manchester City for months before switching to Liverpool last summer.

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That cost the Reds £200,000, the fee agreed with Fiorentina almost 10 times that amount for a player who had barely featured in the under-23s, let alone come close to the first team.

Duncan has time on his side, and will look to the success of Jadon Sancho and Ademola Lookman for inspiration.

Liverpool, though, didn't waste any of theirs, Edwards keen to broker a deal, ship out an unhappy player and draw a line under an unseemly and unexpected tale, limiting any possible fall-out.

A tricky situation handled swiftly, decisively and professionally amid extraordinary personal claims aimed towards Edwards.

Not bad for a supposedly glorified data analyst.