Fabrizio Romano confirms staggering fee Liverpool have to pay to sign key target

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Liverpool will have to pay a huge transfer fee in order to sign a key target.

Richard Hughes' focus will be on the midfield during the summer window. The Reds have to bring in new reinforcements.

Right now there's a chance Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister could all depart in the summer.

The former is of interest to Real Madrid, Jones will have a year left on his contract by the summer comes rolling around and Endo is clearly not considered a long-term part of Liverpool's project.

The club is already short of a midfielder right now, so if all three leave, and Arne Slot continues to use Trey Nyoni very sparingly, then Liverpool will have to be busy in the market.

Hughes' only problem though is that in order to buy the best players, he needs to be spending premium amounts. Midfielders come at an even higher price these days.

Even clubs outside of Europe's top five leagues are going to demand higher fees. Anfield Watch understands that the club's midfield shortlist includes, Caleb Yirenkyi, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Eduardo Camavinga, Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, Warren Zaire-Emery and Kees Smit.

It's the latter, who plays for AZ Alkmaar that could end-up being a more affordable option. Smit is still an elite talent but he doesn't play for one of the big clubs who would demand a hefty fee, even in the Netherlands, Alkmaar aren't the biggest of clubs.

Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax are ahead of them.

But it looks like Alkmaar are going to be demanding a huge transfer fee as revealed by Fabrizio Romano.

“The name I keep bringing to the table: Kees Smit, the AZ Alkmaar midfielder,” the transfer insider reported on his YouTube channel.

“[His agent] Jorge Mendes is in control of the situation. There is Real Madrid interest, there are Premier League top clubs interested, several top clubs. So, it’s going to be a big battle between Spanish and Premier League clubs.

“For Kees Smit and AZ Alkmaar, it’s going to be a huge summer. It’s not going to be easy to sign him. Something like €40m-45m is not enough, it’s not enough money.

“Get ready for Kees Smit, because he’s going to be a big part of conversations.”

Smit is a fantastic player, but the fact that Liverpool are going to essentially have to pay over £40m for a player with little experience in European football is a staggering amount.

That's the nature of the market right now.

And to be fair, for a player of Smit's talent, it might be worth it. He really is one of the best young midfielders in European football right now.

He's been a stand-out in the Eredivisie. His vision and his pressing ability combined with his technical qualities make him an ideal profile.

However, there are so many risks with buying a young player from the Netherlands. Liverpool don't want to be spending in excess of £40m on a gamble.

So, it will be interesting to see how this saga plays out.

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