Liverpool reportedly remain interested in French midfield duo Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram, as they look set to miss out on yet another midfield target in Romeo Lavia to Chelsea.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano (via his exclusive CaughtOffside column), who says that despite contrasting reports, Liverpool never actually struck a deal with Southampton over Romeo Lavia since they were aware that the Chelsea move was his preference all along.
Liverpool are desperate to sign a midfielder before the transfer window slams shut, but Todd Boehly’s Chelsea are virtually bullying them in the transfer market. The Blues have already beaten them with the signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a British record of £115 million.
The Stamford Bridge outfit looks to have also prevailed in pursuit of Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, who is to undergo a medical ahead of a £55 million transfer. Liverpool had earlier seen three bids rejected for the Belgian wonderkid.
Liverpool may find themselves forced to look elsewhere in their search for midfield reinforcements. And as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Reds could revisit their interest in some past transfer targets as they continue to keep tabs on both Kone and Thuram, having been strongly linked to the French pair earlier this summer.
Thuram, for one, enjoyed his best and is quickly blossoming into a star in Ligue 1. His stock will only rise beyond this summer. He looked to be on his way to Liverpool last month after it was reported that Liverpool had agreed personal terms with the OGC Nice midfielder, but the Reds never followed that up with a formal bid.
Although the Frenchman is a phenomenal talent, dropping their interest in the 22-year-old made sense given the Reds need a specialist defensive midfielder, and Thuram is perhaps more of an attack-minded, box-to-box enforcer, in a similar mould to summer recruits Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
To that end, Liverpool would be wise to reignite their interest in Manu Kone. The young Borussia Monchengladbach midfield maestro was also believed to be of keen interest to Liverpool earlier in the summer. However, a knee injury sustained during the Under-21 European Championships sidelined him for six weeks, effectively ending the possibility of an immediate move.
However, Koné has made a successful recovery from his injury and is set to rejoin training with the Mönchengladbach squad in the coming days. Reports are emerging suggesting that various top clubs, including Liverpool, are eyeing him for a potential transfer before the window closes.
A jack of all trades, Kone possesses quality with the ball at his feet, the ability to break the lines, dribble out of tight spaces, and is energetic both on and off the ball, making him the perfect fit for Liverpool’s counter-pressing.
Gladbach will always entertain sensible offers for their stars, and it is also being rumoured that he has a very reasonable release clause in his current contract, so Liverpool may not even need to work that hard to get this done in comparison to previous transfer saga’s.
