Andoni Iraola greenlights fourth £100m-plus Liverpool signing
Andoni Iraola has spoken with the Liverpool hierarchy and given his green light to a £100m-plus signing that could come in January.
Liverpool have broken the £100m barrier three times, signing Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and most recently, Bradley Barcola.
The jury remains out on Wirtz, while Isak will always score if fit, and Barcola bagged the first hattrick of his professional career on Wednesday evening.
In Liverpool’s case at least, it appears nine-figure fees don’t guarantee a successful transfer, though a fourth £100m-plus player could soon arrive.
Over the past few days, news broke of Bournemouth giving their reluctant approval for Alex Scott to leave the club in January.
Bournemouth had attempted to tie the 23-year-old midfielder down to a new and improved contract. A club-leading salary of £150,000-a-week was put forward, along with the prospect of a release clause.
Nevertheless, Scott’s mind is made up and he won’t pen fresh terms in order to facilitate a blockbuster move to one of England’s elite.
The BBC and Fabrizio Romano have namechecked two clubs when reporting on Scott’s next destination – Liverpool and Chelsea.
The Blues bid £64m for Scott over the summer, while Liverpool’s interest is being driven in part by Iraola who managed the midfielder on the south coast.
Bournemouth are ready to sell mid-season if a club bids £100m-plus and they’ve moved away from the relegation zone at that time.
As such, it’s a case of Liverpool v Chelsea for the Premier League’s next £100m-plus transfer, and our colleagues over on TEAMtalk have shed light on how the Blues and Reds view the situation.
Liverpool or Chelsea for Alex Scott?
Their insider, Fraser Fletcher, revealed Chelsea believe they’re ‘on track’ to seal the deal.
What’s more, Scott is understood to be high on the idea of playing alongside fellow England internationals, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, as well as working under Xabi Alonso.
However, Fletcher was keen to stress Liverpool cannot be discounted from the race. On the contrary, Iraola has spoken with Liverpool’s board and made it crystal clear he’d love to reunite with Scott at Anfield.
One factor that could prove decisive in this battle is when Chelsea and Liverpool would prefer to do business.
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Having sold Enzo Fernandez on deadline day and seen a deal to sign Lamine Camara from Monaco collapse at the eleventh hour, Chelsea want Scott as soon as possible, meaning January.
Liverpool, meanwhile, would prefer to sign Scott at the end of the season, a position that surrenders the advantage to Chelsea.
Nevertheless, Liverpool have shown a willingness to accelerate transfer plans in the past when rival clubs came calling for their top targets.
The Reds famously snapped up Cody Gakpo from under Manchester United’s nose in the January window of 2023, and did the same with Luis Diaz a year prior after Tottenham launched a bid in the January window of 2022.
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