Rik Elfrink has now corroborated reports of Liverpool’s interest in Johan Bakayoko.
The PSV forward is expected to set back an interested part in the region of £42.59m this summer.
The 21-year-old is understood to be courting interest from a multitude of top European outfits including Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.
“Earlier this week it was announced that the 21-year-old Belgian is on the list of Liverpool and a number of other clubs. Borussia Dortmund has also been on the line before. That club probably will not pay what PSV has in mind for Bakayoko, which should in any case yield around 50 million euros,” the Eindhovens Dagblad journalist wrote.
“Despite a two-year contract, that does not even seem to be the absolute top prize, because Bakayoko is on the scouting list of almost all European top clubs.
“A lot may also depend on the European Championship that Bakayoko plays with the Red Devils in the coming weeks. If he explodes there in a figurative sense, things can still go fast.”
Bakayoko has registered 28 goal contributions in 48 games for the Rood-witten this term.
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The heir to Mo Salah’s throne?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what to expect from a Mo Salah heir, let’s first establish what Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes will expect from a Liverpool signing.
Realistically, we’d imagine the club won’t be keen to depart from a long-term strategy of signing players between the age of 20-25. If on the verge of breaking into the uppermost tier of European talent – the better!
Bakayoko certainly appears to be heading in that general direction and wouldn’t cost the earth at this point in time.
Now on to Salah. Our Egyptian King scores highly in both creative (99th percentile for xAG) and goalscoring metrics (non penalty xG), according to FBref. The Belgian, by comparison still has some way to go to reach those dizzying heights (86th and 89th percentile respectively).
Touches in the opposing penalty area is also a promising indicator, with the PSV man sitting in the 94th percentile 6.35 touches per 90 (compared to Salah’s 8.90).