Jonathon Johnson has claimed that Liverpool can now afford to sign both Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram this summer following the bargain deal they secured for Alexis Mac Allister.
The Argentine completed his £35m switch from Brighton to Anfield yesterday and Jurgen Klopp remains eager to complete more business ahead of next season with the two Frenchman believed to now be the Reds’ main transfer targets.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that the Merseysiders are set to hold talks with the players and their agents in the near future with no bid yet to be submitted and CBS Sports journalist Johnson believes Liverpool would be signing two midfielders who will be great additions both ‘for now and for the future’.
“As has been widely reported, there have been initial discussions over Liverpool possibly signing Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram – two interesting profiles who are attracting a lot of interest from other top clubs across Europe,” Johnson told Caught Offside. “I think the competition for both will end up being quite fierce; Kone’s been linked with Manchester United and there’s interest from PSG as well, and Thuram has had similar suitors.
“In terms of Liverpool and their midfield, they’ve made a good start with Alexis Mac Allister, whose arrival was confirmed yesterday. I think the price they’re getting him at is relatively low, certainly in this current market, so it does probably afford them the resources to get one or both of Kone and Thuram. I’m not saying they’ll get both those players, but they can target the two of them, and if they get one of the two it can be considered a success
“I do think it’s quite a big jump for both of them, from where they are now at Gladbach and Nice, respectively, to one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League. I think both could do with a bit more experience before dealing with the kind of expectations they’ll have at Anfield, but equally, this is a season where Liverpool are going to have to manage their ambitions a little bit – they’ll be in the Europa League rather than the Champions League, and so that might be a more realistic step up for these two players, rather than going straight to the Champions League and to a club aspiring to win trophies like that and the Premier League title.
“Liverpool need to focus on challenging for a return to the top four before thinking about the title again, so in that sense if Kone and Thuram are available at the right time for this rebuild, both will eventually go on to play for the very best teams in Europe. Whoever gets them this summer, and there is an acceptance that they’ll move, will be getting a very good talent for now and for the future as well.”
Some Liverpool fans may be excited after seeing that a private jet has been scheduled to travel to Blackpool airport from Nice today.
OGC Nice midfielder Thuram may very well be on that plane which could mean our second signing of the summer is just around the corner.
The son of France legend Lilian Thuram, as well as ‘Gladbach’s Kone, have impressed for their respective clubs this season and it’s therefore no surprise to see them being linked with a number of different clubs.
The pair were recently spotted hanging out with each other in Paris and we’d be very surprised if they didn’t discuss the prospect of moving to L4 during their time in the French capital.