On Friday morning, reports from BBC Sport confirmed that we have have had an opening offer of around £10m for full-back Nathaniel Clyne rejected by Southampton.
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Brendan Rodgers’ side are in desperate need of a new right sided defender this summer, with Glen Johnson set to go next month after his contract expires, and with Jon Flanagan likely to miss much of our next campaign through injury. It means that youngsters Javier Manquillo and Andre Widsom are currently our only options, with Emre Can – who played their for much of the season just gone – hoping to establish himself as a midfielder (via ESPN).
Southampton are understandably eager to keep hold of Clyne, who would be most peoples first choice for a new right back after a brilliant season on the South Coast – one that saw him help Saints to seventh place in the Premier League and establish himself with the England national team.
So if we fail to convince them to sell, here are five players we think might be worth targeting instead:
5) Martin Montoya (Barcelona)
The 24-year-old is little more than a fringe player for the Spanish champions and would surely jump at the chance to play regularly in the Premier League. He’s featured 43 times in La Liga since making his debut during the 2010-11 season but has only ever been used sparingly, with just 12 appearances to his name in all competitions this year. He’s a versatile former Spanish youth team international and could probably be picked up on the cheap.
4) Maxi Pereira (Benfica)
A more experience option could be the veteran Uruguay international, who has won 100 caps for his country. The 30-year-old has been with Benfica since 2007, making more than 300 appearances in all competitions while also scoring 21 times. He’d be about as close for a like-for-like replacement as we could get for Glen Johnson but you have to think that his arrival wouldn’t fill us with the same kind of excitement that Clyne’s would.
3) Daryl Janmaat (Newcastle United)
The 25-year-old Dutchman surprised a lot of people when he chose Newcastle last summer. However, he’s subsequently justified his decision by being one of the Magpies stand-out players this season and helping them narrowly avoid relegation. Coming off the back of that success, you have to think that the 23-time Netherlands international might be tempted by the prospect of playing European football and challenging for the top four.
2) Sebastian Jung (Wolfsburg)
We’d have to go some to drag this 24-year-old German international away from Wolfsburg, who will of course be playing Champions league football next season. However, let’s never underestimate the lure of Liverpool. The former Eintracht Frankfurt player, who only joined his new employers last summer, has been in fine form this year, making 30 appearances in all competitions. However, he’s not a guaranteed starter and could still make the switch should the right offer come along.
1) Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
This is the only name on this list who would probably be in ‘Clyne territory’, at least in terms of how excited us Liverpool fans would be. The 23-year-old Spanish international has bags of potential and has already made 61 La Liga appearances for Madrid since his move from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013. And, with the prospect of a new manager coming in and Brazilian full-back Danilo already among the new arrivals, we could take advantage of the uncertainty surrounding his future.
