Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke
An agent has confirmed Liverpool have discussed the potential signing of his client in a new move, but Jorg Schmadtke could get the Reds to go after a different target, Barcelona are eyeing a second swoop on Manchester City after Ilkay Gundogan, while Saturday’s Transfer Gossip claims Fulham hope to land a midfielder before West Ham.
TWO LIVERPOOL MIDFIELD TARGETS EMERGE
There have already been plenty of changes to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool midfield this summer and that trend looks set to continue, with the Merseyside giants backed to sign two new players in the position.
Liverpool got rid of some of the dead wood in the squad by allowing James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to leave Anfield on free transfers. And they begun the process of revamping their midfield by snaring Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and signing RB Leipzig star Dominik Szoboszlai.
But it seems more players could leave Liverpool ahead of next season, with Steven Gerrard hoping to take Reds captain Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabian club Al Ettifaq. And Henderson could come up against Fabinho in the Middle East, as Al Ittihad are preparing a £40million offer for the Brazilian.
Liverpool have been pursuing Southampton star Romeo Lavia as a potential signing to provide competition and backup for Fabinho, but they may now have to accelerate those plans if the latter leaves.
The only trouble for Klopp is that Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested in Lavia, making it a tough transfer for Liverpool to complete.
One alternative to Lavia is 19-year-old Senegalese midfielder Pape Demba Diop, who currently represents Zulte Waregem in the Belgian second tier. During a recent interview with Tutto Mercato (via Liverpool Echo), Diop’s representative Gerald Sagoe confirmed Liverpool have been in touch. Although, Diop is wanted by several top European clubs too.
“Yes, towards the end of last season while he was busy with the national team, we were contacted by Liverpool and we had preliminary meetings in Paris,” Sagoe said.
“Three French teams have expressed interest and some Italian teams, including Napoli, have expressed interest. Together with my lawyer, Alessandro Mazzucato, we will have some appointments in Germany in the next few weeks. Let’s see what happens.”
Senegal and France midfielders on Liverpool radar
Sagoe added that he is looking for ‘the right project’ for Diop so the player can continue his exciting development and emerge into a top midfielder.
But given Diop’s tender age, and the fact he lacks experience in a major league, the Senegal U23 international may not actually be the right solution for Liverpool. Instead, they could reignite their interest in Borussia Monchengladbach enforcer Kouadio Kone, alternatively known as Manu Kone.
During an interview with CaughtOffside, German journalist Christian Falk has revealed Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke ‘has an eye’ on Kone, 22.
“At Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp is saying what he wants in the market and Schmadkte is making plans from this,” Falk declared.
“We’ve been previously talking about Manu Kone, for example. He had a knee injury at the European U21 Championship, so it will take time, as he can’t pass any medical tests at the moment. So this could be a topic that will be interesting for English clubs like Liverpool.
Schmadtke has an eye on him. So these are things in the background that Schmadtke is doing at the moment.”
MAN CITY STAR COULD SECURE GUNDOGAN REUNION
Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is not the only Man City player who might swap the Etihad for the Nou Camp this summer, with full-back Joao Cancelo also tipped to make the same move.
City boss Pep Guardiola was hopeful of keeping Gundogan this summer and the Citizens offered him a new contract. However, the German decided to pursue a new challenge and therefore signed for Xavi’s Barca.
His contract will run for two years and includes the option of a further 12 months, should his spell in Spain go smoothly.
City have already replaced Gundogan by landing Croatia international Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea for £25m.
Gundogan could now be followed to Barca by Cancelo. The 29-year-old became frustrated with Guardiola rotating his players so often last season and therefore spent the final six months of the campaign on loan at Bayern.
He has been linked with Barca on a few occasions and Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claim the La Liga champions are once again considering a move for him.
Xavi remains a big fan of Cancelo due to his ability to register goals and assists while operating as an attacking full-back. And Barca’s good relationship with Cancelo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, should help them reach an agreement.
As Barca do not have huge finances at their disposal currently, it is likely they will send City a loan bid for Cancelo. They could also ask for an option to buy to be included, which would give them 12 months to draw up funds before signing Cancelo permanently.
While Cancelo is an elite player, Barca would be doing their former boss Guardiola a favour by signing him. Guardiola does not want Cancelo to come back into the City squad as he would only cause problems when he is not in the starting eleven.
The report states that Barca have recently been looking into signing Spanish wonderkid Ivan Fresneda to improve their full-back options. But they have struggled to agree on a price with his current club Real Valladolid, which is why Cancelo has come back into view.
FULHAM BATTLE WEST HAM FOR SOUTHAMPTON ACE
Fulham have joined West Ham in pursuing Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse, according to a report.
West Ham have kept tabs on Ward-Prowse as they hunt a replacement for Declan Rice, whose £105m transfer to Arsenal will soon be announced.
But on Friday, The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealed the Irons had instead opened preliminary talks with Ajax to sign Edson Alvarez as Rice’s successor.
And that could result in Ward-Prowse heading to Craven Cottage. As per Football Insider, Fulham ‘are ready to move’ for the set-piece specialist and are expected to begin discussions with Southampton.
While Ward-Prowse has huge love for the Saints, he is unlikely to be playing for them next season following their relegation to the Championship.
Fulham can offer him the chance to remain playing in the top flight, which will help the 28-year-old add to his 11 England caps. Although, Fulham may have to spend big money to reach an agreement with Southampton.
That is because the south coast outfit will demand an eye-watering £52m for Ward-Prowse, even though they are now in the second tier.
Fulham, of course, will try to negotiate that price down, potentially to between the £30-40m mark. And if Ward-Prowse hands in a transfer request then Southampton might have to accept a reduced fee.
