A journalist has revealed which Premier League star Liverpool are most likely to pursue this month to bolster their central midfield options.
Liverpool have been linked with several midfielders in recent months. Jude Bellingham is believed to be their top target. But Borussia Dortmund could charge over £100million for him, and this may rule Liverpool out of the running.
Jurgen Klopp is also a fan of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo. He has been hugely impressive over the last year, becoming an important part of the Brighton setup and playing for Ecuador at the Qatar World Cup.
Unfortunately for Klopp and Liverpool, Caicedo may end up going elsewhere. Chelsea have already made a bid worth £55m for the Seagulls ace. And after having that rejected, they are expected to return with an improved £65m offer.
Should Caicedo move to Stamford Bridge, then Liverpool may be forced to go after an alternative from the Prem. Luckily for Klopp, he also admires Matheus Nunes of Wolves.
The Brazil-born Portugal international joined Wolves from Sporting Lisbon in the summer for an initial £38million, according to The Guardian. That came after interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and West Ham.
Nunes has gone on to play 21 times for Wolves in all competitions this season. After a troublesome start for everyone at the club, which saw Bruno Lage get the sack on October 3, Julen Lopetegui has begun dragging the West Midlands outfit away from danger.
Nunes will be one of the players who benefits most from the team playing better in most matches. Klopp has kept tabs on the 24-year-old since his arrival in England and will continue to do so.
Liverpool backed to pursue Wolves man
Journalist Ryan Taylor, who writes for the Daily Express, believes Nunes is the most likely midfielder to join Liverpool in January. And Reds hopes are bolstered by the fact Wolves want to bring in Joao Gomes, potentially as Nunes’ replacement.
“I think Matheus Nunes is the likely one if they were to move for a midfielder [this month],” Taylor said during an interview with CaughtOffside.
“That’s not to say they’d be able to strike a deal. With Wolves likely to sign Joao Gomes after the arrival of Mario Lemina, if you look at their midfield roster, it’s now very overinflated.”
Wolves recently sent Brazilian club Flamengo a £15m offer for Gomes. But this has been trumped by a £17.5m proposal from Lyon.
Wolves remain hopeful of landing Gomes ahead of his other potential suitors and will probably come back with a better bid. And if the Brazil U20 international moves to Molineux, Wolves may be more likely to sell Nunes to Liverpool.
It is unclear how much Klopp’s side would have to pay to snare Nunes. Wolves would want to make a profit on the £38m they paid for him towards the start of the season. This means Liverpool could have to submit a bid worth £50m or more.
This is clearly a big amount of money. But with Bellingham potentially worth £100m or higher, Liverpool officials must decide how far they are prepared to go to revamp the midfield.
