With Liverpool publicly waving around £111 million for Moises Caicedo, we’ve now shown the market our maximum budget for a player, meaning landing any other midfielders will now likely cost us more than it previously would have.
Speaking exclusively with Empire of the Kop, Neil Jones said: ‘Liverpool went to PSV in January and bought Cody Gakpo and there was a reason why they were so keen to sign the player. Firstly, they liked the player, secondly, they worried that Ibrahim Sangare and Madueke would be sold which would then impact the price PSV would be prepared to sell Gakpo at.
‘So Liverpool clearly see Sangare as someone who will move on to a bigger club. Whether he’s ready for the Liverpool level remains to be seen. It’s a big step from the Eredivisie, he’s played in a few different positions and performed well, and he’s been linked with Liverpool before.
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‘£32m is not out of anyone’s hitting zone in the Premier League, is it? It’s certainly not out of Liverpool’s! The question is: can he come straight into the side and play games from the off? Is he a No.6 that will fit Liverpool’s needs?’.
With PSV insider Rik Elfrink reporting that the Reds could secure the services of Ibrahim Sangare by meeting the £32 million release clause in his contract, it would mean that we could bypass both negotiations with the club and the possible ‘Liverpool tax’ which may be in play from rival clubs in the market.
Given our public need and struggle to secure a midfield target, many teams are likely to bump up their prices if they are met with a bid from Jurgen Klopp.
Seeing as we were apparently convinced back in January though that the 25-year-old was destined to move to a ‘bigger club’, even though both Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke have already departed, we may still be able to do business with the Dutch side.
Meeting the clause would of course mean that we don’t deal with the Eredivisie outfit but having a strong relationship with them could mean that the player is happy to make the Merseyside move.
With a player operating well in a lower standard division available right now, it may well be worth adding him to our squad of options – especially given the desperation around our situation.