Liverpool interest in £300k per week centre-back CONFIRMED

Liverpool’s centre-back sector now looks like Richard Hughes’ primary focus.

Deals have been concluded this winter already for outstanding academy prospects. Noah Adekoya and Mor Talla Ndiaye have been recruited for Rob Page’s under-21 side while Ifeanyi Ndukwe will arrive once he turns 18.

He will be joined on Merseyside next summer by Jeremy Jacquet - a first-team-ready 20-year-old signing from Rennes for an initial £55m.

Those new recruits will go alongside Giovanni Leoni - the 19-year-old signed from Parma for £26m last summer but who is currently out injured.

All change in Liverpool backline

It is now expected that there will be departures - with Ibrahima Konate out of contract at the end of the season and Joe Gomez’s future also under intense speculation.

The Englishman is out of contract in 2027 and Hughes may take the opportunity to cash in one year before Gomez is due to leave on a free.

Factor in that captain Virgil van Dijk is already 34 and expected to leave in 2027 as well and you can see how big the defensive rebuild is going to be at Anfield.

One option emerging for the Premier League champions to ease the transition is to add an experienced defender on a free transfer.

Liverpool want £300k per week Upamecano

That player is Dayot Upamecano - who looked all but certain to sign a Bayern Munich contract extension only a few weeks ago.

But it's not done yet for the France international - with renowned German journalist Florian Plettenberg confirming Liverpool’s interest.

“Liverpool is interested in Upamecano, we can confirm that,” he told Sky Sports.

Now TEAMtalk journalist Fraser Fletcher has weighed in - suggesting that Liverpool want Upamecano next summer on a Bosman when the 27-year-old’s contract expires in Bavaria.

It’s also been claimed that the Reds would have to pay over £300k per week to sign Upamecano.

That would place him behind only Van Dijk and Mo Salah in the Liverpool pecking order - and it remains to be seen whether the club can get a reduction in those terms.

“Liverpool are indeed interested in signing Upamecano, though his high salary expectations – upwards of £300,000-a-week – are a concern,” goes the report.

Liverpool have been caught short at centre-back this season - on occasion having only Van Dijk and Konate available as options in the position.

It will be all change from next summer onwards with Jacquet and Leoni ready to challenge immediately for a starting place. Will we see the vastly experienced Upamecano joining them?

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