Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool have scheduled a ’round of talks’ with the agents of two reported transfer targets.
Following the acquisition of Alexis Mac Allister, the Reds’ attention is now set to turn towards two other midfielders they’ve been pursuing, namely Manu Koné and Khephren Thuram.
The Italian took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to share a fresh update on the chase for the French duo, stating: “Liverpool have scheduled round of talks with Manu Koné and Khephren Thuram agents.
“No bid submitted yet but both players remain on the list. Reds will plan for next signing in the midfield after Mac Allister deal now finally completed.”
Now that Mac Allister is officially signed, Jorg Schmadtke and co can give their full commitment to trying to follow up with Kone and Thuram.
While it may now be more than 10 years since Gemelli brokered Coutinho’s transfer to Anfield, the positive working relationship between him and Liverpool has been well worth maintaining from the Reds’ perspective, seeing as how it’s helped them to land Mac Allister.
The Nice midfielder could cost as much as £52m (Daily Mail), while the Borussia Monchengladbach man could be acquired for a more reasonable figure in the £35m-£40m bracket (BILD).
If LFC sign both players for the fees quoted, on top of the £35m reportedly spent on the Argentine, that’d give them a whole new starting midfield of players aged 24 or younger for roughly £125m.
That’s less than what reports in the Daily Mail earlier this year were claiming that Borussia Dortmund were seeking for long-time Liverpool target Jude Bellingham, who now looks bound for Real Madrid instead.
It’d amount to a hugely successful transfer window for the Reds if it comes off, although even with decent progress being made on the pursuits of Kone and Thuram, there’s still much work to be done before those two sign on the dotted line at Anfield.
The proposed negotiations in the coming days could go a long way towards either accelerating the moves or seeing them hit a dead end.
You can see Romano’s latest tweet below, via @FabrizioRomano on Twitter:
Liverpool have scheduled round of talks with Manu Koné and Khephren Thuram agents. No bid submitted yet but both players remain on the list. 🔴 #LFC
Reds will plan for next signing in the midfield after Mac Allister deal now finally completed. pic.twitter.com/Xp7K5NmQYN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 8, 2023