Liverpool have been ruthless in the current summer market, exploiting release clauses to land two stellar additions to the squad in Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
The Merseysiders can’t always beat their rivals to admired players, of course, as has been made clear by Manchester City’s pursuit of reported target (Florian Plettenberg) Josko Gvardiol.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Twitter that talks remain ongoing between RB Leipzig and Pep Guardiola’s outfit, with the club expected to seal a deal for the talented Croatian before the window closes.
With the midfield requiring major surgery, missing out on the £85.4m-rated centre-back was always going to be an expected casualty.
That’s not to suggest that another centre-half won’t be brought into the squad this summer, though fans can likely put aside any hope of landing a big-money defender in the same window.
Keeping in mind the need, ideally, for a third midfield signing who can provide cover for the 6 position, however, there’s every possibility that we could conduct something of a revenge mission by nabbing a former City star right under their noses.
Romeo Lavia, formerly of City’s academy setup, is understood to remain the subject of ‘concrete’ talks, with Jurgen Klopp a big fan of the Belgian.
Whether the £50m asking price Southampton are currently keen on can be negotiated down – and whether this will determine Liverpool’s ability to commit to the transfer – however, remains to be seen.
Still, just think of how glorious it would be to snap up a signing with the teenager’s ceiling who the Cityzens willingly let sold!
#Ep79 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Dominik Szoboszlai – a mix of De Bruyne/Gerrard/Zidane?