Fabrizio Romano has revealed which three signings Liverpool will make in the summer transfer window to completely transform their squad, Arsenal have discovered they will have to pay close to £90million for a new winger, while Monday’s Euro Paper Talk claims Leeds want a Serie A player on a free transfer.
THREE LIVERPOOL TRANSFERS NAMED BY TRUSTED SOURCE
Liverpool will prioritise the signings of three players at the end of the season as they look to get back to their best under Jurgen Klopp, according to Romano.
The Reds are enduring a poor run of form at the moment, having won just once in their last seven matches in all competitions. And things could get even worse for Klopp’s side over the coming weeks.
They face Merseyside rivals Everton tonight at Anfield, which is bound to be a tougher game now Sean Dyche has replaced Frank Lampard as Toffees boss.
After that, Liverpool travel to high-flying Newcastle before coming up against Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16.
It is obvious that Liverpool need new players to improve the squad this summer. As Jamie Carragher has pointed out, they have too many young and old players, and not enough in that perfect bracket between 25-29.
During an interview with CaughtOffside, Romano has provided an insight on which positions will be improved later this year.
The trusted journalist says Jude Bellingham ‘is the top priority’ as part of a potential midfield overhaul, with two more players being tipped to follow him to Anfield.
“For sure Liverpool want to support Klopp in the summer with the new signings,” Romano said. “Bellingham is the top priority but there’s a chance they can go for one more midfielder because of [Naby] Keita, [James] Milner and [Alex-Oxlade] Chamberlain [expiring] contract situation.
Reds fans told to ‘keep an eye’ on defensive pursuits
“I’d keep an eye also on the centre-backs situation.”
It sounds like Liverpool will land another new midfielder to play alongside Bellingham next season. And a new centre-half is also destined to join Klopp’s squad due to the poor form of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate currently out injured.
One midfielder who might partner Bellingham in the Liverpool midfield is Japan international Daichi Kamada. The star, who has registered 13 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt this season, will become a free agent in the summer. As such, Liverpool will not need to spend any transfer fee to get him in.
Liverpool also hold an interest in Napoli playmaker Piotr Zielinski, according to Italian outlet Il Mattino. However, the Serie A outfit are keen to retain Zielinski and will reportedly hold out for as much as £70m.
In terms of the new centre-half that could arrive at Liverpool, Josko Gvardiol appears to be Klopp’s dream signing. And the RB Leipzig star has previously spoken about supporting the Reds when growing up.
But Liverpool are not alone in chasing the breakout World Cup star. Real Madrid and Chelsea also hope to land him, setting up a potential bidding war this summer.
Zielinski and Kamada fit into the 25-29 age bracket that Carragher has told Liverpool to increase. Bellingham and Gvardiol, admittedly, are both under 22 years of age.
But they are destined to become two of the best players in the world in their respective positions. Therefore, Liverpool should still bring them in as they have shown maturity beyond their years in recent seasons.
It looks set to be a busy summer window for Liverpool as club chiefs prepare to open negotiations with several top players and their agents. But Liverpool will need to work hard to fend off some of Europe’s biggest teams for their midfield and defensive targets.
ARSENAL MUST SMASH TRANSFER RECORD FOR SERIE A FORWARD
After stepping up their pursuit of Rafael Leao recently, Arsenal have been told by AC Milan that the winger will cost €100m (£88m). A move for this amount would see Arsenal shatter their record signing, which is currently the £72m spent on Nicolas Pepe in 2019. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Napoli have begun searching for replacements for striker Victor Osimhen amid growing interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. (Ciro Venerato)
Van Dijk and Harvey Elliott are not positioning themselves to leave Liverpool, despite joining a new representative agency recently. (Fabrizio Romano)
Unai Emery wants Aston Villa to raid Rayo Vallecano for winger Isi Palazon. (various)
Rodrigo Bentancur will have surgery today after damaging his ACL in the Tottenham loss to Leicester. (El Observador)
It has already been revealed that the midfielder will miss the rest of the campaign for Spurs. (The Guardian)
LEEDS PLOT CUT-PRICE SERIE A SWOOP
Leeds want to capture former Chelsea right-back Ola Aina. He could move to Elland Road for free as his contract expires on June 30. (Inter Live)
Chelsea are interested in landing Morocco winger Abde Ezzalzouli from Barcelona. (Mundo Deportivo)
Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool have all held talks with the agent of Barcelona attacker Ansu Fati. (Fabrizio Romano)
Inter Milan have offered a contract to Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs striker target Marcus Thuram. (Calciomercato)
Arsenal sporting director Edu has phoned Vitor Roque’s agent to show the Gunners are committed to signing him from Athletico Paranaense. (Sport)
Leicester have expressed an interest in snapping up former Liverpool centre-back target Perr Schuurs from Torino. (La Stampa)
Former Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder is the ‘top candidate’ to become the next Leeds manager. Schreuder has also been urged to follow in Erik ten Hag’s footsteps by taking over an English side. (De Telegraaf)
MAN UTD FAIL WITH SWAP TRANSFER IDEA
Man Utd tried to engineer a swap deal involving Donny van de Beek and Weston McKennie in 2021, only to have their efforts pushed back by Juventus. McKennie has since joined Leeds. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Roma have joined the list of teams pursuing Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who is enjoying a top season on loan at PSV. (Giallorossi.net)
Carlo Ancelotti has rejected claims he is ready to leave Real Madrid and become the next Brazil head coach. (ESPN)
Man Utd-linked Adrien Rabiot admits he ‘doesn’t know what is going to happen’ when he leaves Juve on a free at the end of the season. (DAZN)
Newcastle and Fulham have begun scouting Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier. (Corriere dello Sport)
Wolves striker Fabio Silva says he is learning a lot from Ruud van Nistelrooy while on loan at PSV, having already had a poor loan spell at Anderlecht earlier in the season. (Voetbal International)
