Monaco are willing to sell us Thomas Lemar, but Liverpool are not ready to spend the £90m it will cost to acquire him.
This is according to Jonathan Northcroft in the Times, who claims Jurgen Klopp values the Frenchman at £60m and is not ready to pay an extra £30m on top of that.
Liverpool have sold Coutinho for a gargantuan sum, but Klopp, who has the say on all Liverpool transfers in and out, doesn’t think £90m for Lemar is reasonable business.
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Monaco are practically begging Liverpool to bid for Thomas Lemar…
To be fair, he’s probably right. Lemar had a very good season in 2016/17 and helped Monaco win Ligue 1, but this term, he’s registered just two goals and four assists in 14 matches. £90m is just £10m less than Antione Griezmann’s release clause, and a sum that should only be paid for a truly world-class player.
We suspect the club’s priority right now is getting Naby Keita to Anfield early. The Guinean wants the move and Klopp is very keen on adding him to the roster, but Rb Leipzig are proving difficult adversaries.
With Coutinho gone, we think it’s essential the club bring in someone to bolster the midfield creatively.
Keita will do just fine.