Liverpool enter race for Premier League star, they think they can knock his price down

Liverpool's opening Premier League game of the 2026-27 season is now just over a week away.

Most fans expected a completely new-look Liverpool team to be fielded against Newcastle on 23 August and, while it may have a couple of new faces in, it certainly won't be the dramatically changed starting XI that fans were hoping for.

Some newbies such as Ronald Araujo or Jeremy Jacquet are likely to feature but, if the Reds want to be taken seriously as a contender for the Premier League title, a couple more players need to be brought in.

At the moment, Liverpool's attack is their main problem area with the club still not managing to replace Mohamed Salah.

Indeed, a couple of players have been linked with an Anfield switch but, at the moment, no concrete bids have been made just yet.

However, moving away from their attacking line, Liverpool's defence could still do with another upgrade or two.

So, the fact that defenders are still being linked with a switch is certainly good news.

Liverpool have entered the race for Malo Gusto

Last season, Arne Slot's main problem area was his right-back.

By the end of the campaign, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai were taking it in turns to plug the gap due to the sheer number of injuries that Liverpool suffered.

Both midfielders played well when used there but, in reality, it's clear that Liverpool need a new right-back.

Indeed, Araujo can be deployed there if needed but, since he's likely to be Virgil van Dijk's main centre-back partner, it leaves a bit of a gap for Liverpool to worry about.

That's why Liverpool's latest links with Malo Gusto from journalist Simon Phillips make a lot of sense.

"Gusto’s price tag is £75m publicly. And according to SPTC Sources, this is considered too high for suitors, and there is no suggestion yet that any club will pay this fee. Industry insiders believe this price tag can come down though," he shared via his Substack.

"Chelsea signed Marco Palestra and have Reece James for the right back options. Even if James goes into midfield, Gusto is not going to be content backing up Palestra.

"So I think this is a situation where the player really pushes too. Like Fernandez, Gusto has wanted to leave for the last four months PLUS.

"Our sources have heard that as well as PSG, Juventus, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool, Tottenham have also considered a move for Gusto in the last few days.

"You’d expect that this is a move that will be on the cards now, to one of these clubs."

Liverpool would have to massively knock Malo Gusto's price down to make a deal worthwhile

Obviously, Gusto's Premier League experience is one of his main selling points.

The right-back has been a mainstay among Chelsea's ranks for the last couple of seasons but, ever since Reece James has returned and got back into form, he was often dropped to the bench.

This led to the Frenchman wanting an exit out of Stamford Bridge which has then made all these other clubs aware of his availability.

However, Chelsea's valuation of £75 million is way too high. The defender may only be 23 years old so there's plenty of time for him to work up to that price tag but, right now, he is not worth anywhere near that amount.

And, since the Blues want to get rid of him now that they have signed Marco Palestra, they've sort of backed themselves into a corner.

If they want Liverpool or any of the other linked teams to make a move, Chelsea need to be realistic and put a competitive price tag on his head.

Should they manage to do this, Richard Hughes must definitely throw Liverpool's hat into the ring but, if they don't, the Reds should walk away before even making an approach.