German football reporter Christian Falk has claimed that Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke has had his eye on one particular Bundesliga midfielder ‘for six months’.
The player in question is Manu Kone, who was strongly linked with the Reds earlier this summer (Football Insider) before other names rose to the forefront.
The prospective departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have seen the Borussia Monchengladbach ace catapulted back into the fold as a possible transfer target, and the Anfield chief could utilise some family ties at that particular club in order to lure the 22-year-old to Merseyside.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about the prospect of Kone joining Jurgen Klopp’s side, Falk said: “He’s also on the list of Liverpool. You know, Schmadtke has an eye on him for six months. Funny thing is that his son is working at Gladbach as a manager, so you see, the direction is very short.”
The exciting French youngster would offer tremendous versatility at Anfield, being able to play as a number 6, 8 or even a 10 (Transfermarkt), so he could be a plug-and-play replacement for either of both of Fabinho and Henderson.
As per FBref, he stands out for his dribbling ability, ranking among the top 4% of midfielders in Europe’s five main leagues for successful take-ons last season with 1.97 per game. He’s also adept at breaking up opposition attacks, averaging 2.55 tackles per 90 minutes.
However, one red flag about Kone is his unfortunate regularity of injuries, with four separate absences (albeit brief) in 2022/23 alone (Transfermarkt), while Monchengladbach manager Gerard Seoane recently confirmed that the 22-year-old is sidelined until at least early August with another body blow (Bulinews).
Another potential concern is his disciplinary record, with 22 yellow cards across the last two Bundesliga campaigns (Transfermarkt).
Signing the French midfielder could be a gamble with those factors in mind, but Liverpool could soon have a pressing need to strengthen in that area of the pitch if even one of Fabinho or Henderson goes.
If Schmadtke has indeed been tracking Kone ever since the start of this year, the 22-year-old must definitely have something about him, so it’ll be intriguing to see if the Reds actively pursue him between now and the summer transfer deadline.
#Ep80 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Fabinho & Jordan Henderson… going, going, gone?🎙️