With Liverpool priortising the recruitment of multiple midfielders this summer, and a move for Alexis Mac Allister seemingly getting closer by the day, Neil Jones has namechecked several other targets who are ‘among those admired’ by the powerbrokers at Anfield.
There looks set to be one significant change in the boardroom, with a deal for Jorg Schmadtke to take over from Julian Ward as the Reds’ sporting director ‘almost done’, according to the reliable Florian Plettenberg on Twitter.
Ahead of that prospective appointment, Jones penned an article for GOAL in which he discussed prospective ins and outs at the club during the summer transfer window.
The journalist stated in the piece that ‘signing at least two new midfielders is a priority‘, elaborating on who those may be.
In addition to the much-publicised pursuits of Mac Allister and Mason Mount, ‘[Ryan] Gravenberch would be of interest if Bayern Munich opted to sell, while Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Matheus Nunes (Wolves) and Khephren Thuram (Nice) are among those admired.‘
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If Liverpool were to get the Brighton and Chelsea midfielders through the door this summer, that’d likely use up most of the transfer budget available to Klopp and strengthen his squad nicely, so it’d then become a case of choosing between which of the others to pursue with the most vigour.
Of the trio mentioned by Jones who the Reds ‘admire’, Nunes stands out as one who’s already acclimatised to the rigours of the Premier League. Koopmeiners isn’t short of high-level experience either, though, having represented Atalanta in the Champions League and Europa League.
As for Thuram, at just 22 he’s at least a couple of years younger than those two players, so he could be the most sensible option from the perspective of a long-term increase of value and the greatest resale potential.
Gravenberch is also there for Liverpool if either they or he can sway Bayern towards cashing in, with the Munich giants hitherto unwilling to part with the Dutchman (Fabrizio Romano).
From Jones’ update, it seems evident that the Reds are casting a wide net when it comes to potential midfield recruits rather than putting all their eggs in just one or two baskets, which is an encouraging sign if the club’s main targets fall by the wayside.
It promises to be a hectic and exciting first few months for Schmadtke at the helm, assuming his appointment is finalised.