Fabrizio Romano: Liverpool due to hold ’round of talks’ over two transfer targets soon

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool have scheduled a ’round of talks’ with the agents of two reported transfer targets.

Following the acquisition of Alexis Mac Allister, the Reds’ attention is now set to turn towards two other midfielders they’ve been pursuing, namely Manu Koné and Khephren Thuram.

The Italian took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to share a fresh update on the chase for the French duo, stating: “Liverpool have scheduled round of talks with Manu Koné and Khephren Thuram agents.

“No bid submitted yet but both players remain on the list. Reds will plan for next signing in the midfield after Mac Allister deal now finally completed.”

Now that Mac Allister is officially signed, Jorg Schmadtke and co can give their full commitment to trying to follow up with Kone and Thuram.

While it may now be more than 10 years since Gemelli brokered Coutinho’s transfer to Anfield, the positive working relationship between him and Liverpool has been well worth maintaining from the Reds’ perspective, seeing as how it’s helped them to land Mac Allister.

The Nice midfielder could cost as much as £52m (Daily Mail), while the Borussia Monchengladbach man could be acquired for a more reasonable figure in the £35m-£40m bracket (BILD).

If LFC sign both players for the fees quoted, on top of the £35m reportedly spent on the Argentine, that’d give them a whole new starting midfield of players aged 24 or younger for roughly £125m.

That’s less than what reports in the Daily Mail earlier this year were claiming that Borussia Dortmund were seeking for long-time Liverpool target Jude Bellingham, who now looks bound for Real Madrid instead.

It’d amount to a hugely successful transfer window for the Reds if it comes off, although even with decent progress being made on the pursuits of Kone and Thuram, there’s still much work to be done before those two sign on the dotted line at Anfield.

The proposed negotiations in the coming days could go a long way towards either accelerating the moves or seeing them hit a dead end.

Liverpool have scheduled round of talks with Manu Koné and Khephren Thuram agents. No bid submitted yet but both players remain on the list.

Reds will plan for next signing in the midfield after Mac Allister deal now finally completed.

With a release clause set at £52.1m, the Uruguayan would require a potentially cheaper outlay from the Merseysiders in comparison to other known targets in Alexis Mac Allister and Mason Mount.

It’s certainly conceivable that we’re keen on the 22-year-old in light of the flurry of reports linking the Primeira Liga man with a switch to Anfield.

Possessing a quite frankly ludicrous pass completion (99th percentile) and tackles rate (99th percentile), according to data recorded by FBref, it’s far from surprising to hear of other Premier League clubs sniffing around our potential midfield target.

Ugarte does appear a bit more raw in comparison to other names linked – a factor that will surely come to light should he make the move to England this summer – though could well be worth the trouble if he can maintain those numbers at Liverpool.

It remains to be seen whether we’ll win the transfer battle, of course, if we are indeed even involved to begin with.

Liverpool are reportedly set to hold fresh talks with the representatives of Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram after finalising the signing of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton. The Reds have wasted no time at all to move for the Argentine World Cup winner, who arrived for a cut-price £35million fee due to a clause written into his deal at the Amex Stadium.

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