‘Klopp will win’ race for £31m Ligue 1 star as Liverpool ‘cook up a new offer’ for Barca man
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp wants to sign Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
Klopp’s midfield players have taken a lot of the blame for their poor season that seems Liverpool seventh in the Premier League and out of all the cup competitions.
There are strong rumours that the Reds will strengthen their midfield in the summer with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claiming there will be two or three midfield signings at Anfield.
Romano wrote in today’s Caught Offside column: “There are many midfield targets being discussed by Liverpool, it’s not only Alexis Mac Allister, Mason Mount and Ryan Gravenberch.
“But it’s still very early, Liverpool will sign midfielders for sure but April is not the moment when you sign players. Sometimes the market is also about opportunities and so Liverpool are exploring different options. I’m told they will sign two or three midfielders this summer.”
They have been linked with numerous midfielders in the summer market with Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella, Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister, Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch just some of the names reportedly on the Reds’ shortlist.
Barella is one of their top targets, according to Inter Live, but Liverpool are also believed to be ‘stronger than anyone’ else in the race to sign Nice midfielder Thuram, who Inter also have an eye on.
The price, understood to be around €35m (£31m) and cost of wages make Thuram a ‘quite unrealistic’ potential signing for Inter Milan and the report adds that ‘Klopp will win’ the race for the France international this summer.
Some less convincing reports in Spanish publication Nacional claim that Liverpool had an €80m offer for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong rejected in the winter transfer window.
That is said to be the same amount Manchester United offered last summer when they attempted to buy the Netherlands international from the Catalan giants.
Liverpool ‘have not yet forgotten him, and they want to make a new attempt’ as ‘the [midfield] option that seems to please’ Klopp ‘the most’ is a move for De Jong.
Nacional add that Liverpool are ‘cooking up a new offer’ for De Jong ahead of the summer transfer window and the Premier League club ‘trust that Baraa will be more receptive’ this time.
But there is a word of warning that it ‘still seems difficult’ for Klopp, especially without Champions League football on offer, with De Jong ‘very comfortable’ at Barcelona.
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