Liverpool have reportedly registered their interest in Lyon’s teenage defender Jordy Gaspar.
French newspaper L’Equipe have claimed that Liverpool are looking at Lyon teenager Jordy Gaspar to solve their defensive crisis. Manager Jurgen Klopp was forced to play James Milner at right-back in the friendly against Chelsea at the Rose Bowl in California, which showed a lack of depth in the squad at the position. The club has let go of Australian youngster Brad Smith with the 23-year-old moving to Bournemouth and are now themselves falling short at the position.
The report adds that the 19-year-old is excited about the prospect of moving to Anfield but that the Merseyside club is not the only one interested in Gaspar. Bayer Leverkusen are also reportedly after the youngster who is yet to sign a professional contract at Lyon. The report also adds that the Bundesliga side currently holds the edge and could convince the teenager with the prospect of Champions League football this season, something that Liverpool cannot provide this season.
The player is another one of the French youngsters making a splash in the European scene in recent times and one more from the famous Olympique Lyonnais academy. The Frenchman is versatile and can play on both the wide positions as a defender. Gaspar was a regular in the UEFA Youth League for Lyon as the French club reached the last 16 of the tournament only to be knocked out by Dutch powerhouse Ajax. The defender notched up two assists in his seven matches for the club and gave a good account of his abilities. The player was lauded by the staff at Lyon for his strength and pace on the ball.
Liverpool seem to be having problems adjusting their back-line ahead of the start of the season. Klopp has let go of defenders like Brad Smith, Kolo Toure, Martin Skrtel and while the German has recruited the likes of Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan from Bundesliga, the Kop army believes they are still short at the back. Add to this, the rumours of Sakho exiting the club after Klopp sent the player home from their pre-season camp citing issues with the player’s attitude. Liverpool are left with Jon Flanagan as the only pure right-back along with recent academy graduate Connor Randall.
The report by L’Equipe states that the defender is tempted by a move away from the French giants and could be Jurgen Klopp’s next target as the German manager continues his overhaul of the Liverpool defence.
