Liverpool ‘speed things up’ to beat Newcastle to £34m star after Szoboszlai deal
Liverpool are ‘speeding things up’ in a bid to beat Newcastle to the signing of Khephren Thuram from Nice.
The Reds are looking to land a defensive midfielder to add to the signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Mac Allister joined from Brighton early last month for around £35m before activating Szoboszlai’s £60m release clause to land him from RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Newcastle had previously been keen on Szoboszlai and Liverpool are making moves to again beat the Magpies to another of their midfield targets.
According to transfer expert Rudy Galetti, Liverpool want to ‘close the gap’ with Nice before Newcastle make a ‘concrete’ move for Thuram.
Galetti tweeted: ‘#Liverpool are speeding things up for Khephren #Thuram. #LFC want to close the gap with #OGCNice soon to anticipate the competition of #Newcastle, which are starting to move concretely for the player: evolving situation.’
Thuram has emerged as a leading target for Klopp following his displays in Ligue 1 with Nice, for whom the 22-year-old has already made 138 appearances.
Reports suggest Nice want at least €40m (£34.3m) for Thuram, who is said to be keen to make the switch to Anfield this summer.
Former Chelsea winger Florent Malouda says he sees a bit of Premier League legend Patrick Vieira in Thuram.
“I know Khephren really well,” Malouda said. “I played with his father Lillian for France and his brother Marcus played at my former club, Guingamp.
“I’ve seen his game evolving. He has worked under Patrick Vieira, and I think that is a good comparison to make in terms of players that remind me of him. Khephren is tall, physically very strong and he has a lot of skill. He can sit in the midfield or play box-to-box.
“I think now is the right time to sign these players because their market value will increase. Khephren has received a few international call-ups with the main squad, so he will be thinking about the European Championships next season. I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops in the European Under 21 Championship.
“He has a great mentality. With the family that he comes from, wow! This is greatness. His dad must be very, very proud to see both his sons playing with the national team and to be linked with some of the most important clubs in Europe.”
