Liverpool are planning to take advantage of the situation of Real Betis defender Aissa Mandi, who is tipped to leave the club this summer.
According to COPE, as relayed by Sport Witness, Aissa Mandi has emerged as the latest target for Liverpool. The Real Betis defender is facing an uncertain future at the club, who are keen on settling things for future following the arrival of Manuel Pellegrini.
They are apparently tempted to offload Mandi, who does have a €30 million release clause. However, Zouhair Feddal’s proposed move to Sporting Lisbon coming to a halt means the Spanish outfit will be willing to accept a lesser offer. Liverpool have decided to take advantage of that situation by tabling a €10 million bid.
The report comes just a few after the club announced the departure of Dejan Lovren. The experienced centre-back moved to Zenit St. Petersburg for a fee of €12 million. So the Reds reinvesting that money on Mandi makes sense given the void in the defensive department left by the departure of the Croatian international.
Although Lovren was never really an established star at Liverpool over the past couple of years, the club does lack a little bit of depth at centre-back. Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk are the only reliable options, with Joel Matip often struggling with injuries.
Mandi, in that regard, is an intriguing choice. The Frenchman does bring a lot of experience to the table, having become a mainstay in the Real Betis defence ever since his €2.8 million move from Reims back in 2016. In fact, he has already made 141 competitive appearances for the Spanish club so far.
In recent seasons, Mandi has built a strong partnership alongside Marc Bartra. They have brought more variety in the Real Betis defence and one would imagine the Algerian replicating his game-reading and aerial abilities alongside a far more capable bunch in Gomez and van Dijk.
As a matter of fact, for a fee of just €10 million, Mandi could be no less than an absolute bargain for Liverpool. He has lots of experience at the highest level of football and shouldn’t find it difficult to get used to the physical nature of the Premier League.
The 28-year-old can add some much-needed depth in Liverpool’s defensive unit, providing the likes of Gomez and Matip with an incentive to fight for their respective places in the first-team. And amid the coronavirus pandemic that has taken a massive financial toll among clubs in Europe, a €10 million fee for Mandi could indeed make sense for the Reds.
There are, however, other options as well, with Jurgen Klopp also reportedly looking at the possibility of signing Ozan Kabak and Ben White.
