Liverpool targeting ‘scary’ £25m speedster who Klopp loves; Gerrard almost signed him – report

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Ismaila Sarr is reportedly a transfer target for Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp seeks to bolster the Reds’ attacking options in the summer.

The Watford winger has been linked with the Reds before (as per Fabrizio Romano for CaughtOffside), and last year he almost teamed up with an Anfield legend.

As per Sky Sports, the Senegalese attacker had agreed a £25m move to Aston Villa, who at the time were managed by Steven Gerrard, only for subsequent stumbling blocks to see the deal ultimately collapsing.

Spanish outlet Fichajes reported on Wednesday: ‘Among the many options that Liverpool manages to improve their attack, that of the Senegalese footballer from Watford, Ismaila Sarr, is one of the ones that the German coach Jürgen Klopp likes the most.’

The report adds that the 25-year-old has ‘no intention of extending his contract’ at Vicarage Road, ‘which places him on Liverpool’s list of great targets for next season’.

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The Reds are patently aware of the damage Sarr can cause when at his best, with the mind harking back to our shock 3-0 defeat at Watford just over three years ago, when he scored two goals to inflict our first league defeat of the title-winning season.

He’s continued to make a big difference for the Hornets, with 27 goals and 17 assists since the beginning of 2020/21 (Transfermarkt), while his talents have been previously lauded by former teammate Ben Foster.

The goalkeeper was awestruck by the African’s ‘scary’ pace, gushing (courtesy of Inside The Hive, via HertsLive): “I still don’t think people understand quite how quick Ismaila Sarr is. His acceleration off from a standing start is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

“And genuinely, I’m being genuine there, I’ve never seen anybody accelerate from a standing start as quick as what he does.”

It seems that Klopp is a fan of the 25-year-old, who’s shown he can make an impact in the final third, but such is our abundance of riches in attack that he’d currently seem like a luxury signing, especially when other positions ought to be of far greater priority.

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