Liverpool: £84m duo among five targets as Klopp’s three demands for new defender are revealed
Khephren Thuram, Manu Kone and Gabri Veiga are reportedly among five midfielders ‘under consideration’ by Liverpool, who also want a new defender.
Liverpool have already paid around £35m to buy Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and they are expected to sign several more players before next season.
It is well-known that their priority is to sign at least one more midfielder following the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
A detailed report from James Pearce of The Athletic claims ‘Thuram, Kone, Veiga, Ryan Gravenberch and Romeo Lavia have all come under consideration’ but this is not their ‘definitive shortlist’ of potential midfield targets.
Pearce has also ruled out moves for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
28-year-old Ward-Prowse ‘doesn’t fit the profile’, while the asking price for Mount – which is understood to be between £70m to £80m – has been ‘deemed vastly excessive’ for a player out of contract in 2024.
It is said that ‘whether Liverpool sign one or two more midfielders will be heavily influenced by the cost of the deals available’. The report adds.
‘Twenty-two-year-old Thuram, the son of former France international Lilian and brother of Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram, is valued at around £50million by Nice and has attracted interest from a number of other Premier League clubs.
‘Senior sources at Liverpool have dismissed speculation that they have already agreed personal terms with the player’s representatives.
‘Celta Vigo’s Veiga, 21, would be a cheaper option given that he has a release clause of around £34million, while Lavia, 19, already has Premier League experience under his belt with Southampton.
‘Positive discussions were held with 21-year-old Gravenberch’s camp but any hope of signing the Netherlands international hinges on Bayern Munich changing their stance with the Bundesliga champions having been adamant he’s not for sale.’
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It is also pointed out that ‘Liverpool are also considering centre-back targets’. Virgil van Dijk is expected to partner Ibrahima Konate in defence next season but they have concerns about the latter’s injury record.
‘Ideally, they would recruit a young, dynamic defender this summer who is capable of providing high-calibre back-up’ and it is confirmed that Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard – who is being targeted by Man Utd – ‘is not viewed as a potential recruitment by coaching staff’.
It will be interesting to see whether Jurgen Klopp continues to use Trent Alexander-Arnold in his ‘hybrid role’ next season as Liverpool ‘are not intending to buy a right-back’.
Instead, Klopp ‘intends to give opportunities in pre-season to teenager Conor Bradley’, who is coming off an impressive loan spell at League One outfit Bolton.
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