£100m midfielder will be Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister 2.0

Liverpool spent around £450m improving the squad during the summer transfer window.

We saw British record deals for both Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak - with sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Arne Slot deciding to upgrade the group that won the Premier League title.

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The Reds saw new arrivals in practically every area of the pitch - with Giorgi Mamardashvili, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni and Hugo Ekitike among the other notable first-team arrivals.

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Curiously however the central midfield area did not get an upgrade - meaning Slot is largely working with the same group of players in the middle third as he was last season.

Liverpool linked again with Baleba

The load was heavy on Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister in particular - with Curtis Jones and to a lesser extent Wataru Endo also playing their part.

Now the reports are beginning about Liverpool moving for midfield targets in transfer windows upcoming. While it’s unlikely that the Merseysiders will move for a midfielder in January, we could see movement there in the summer of 2026.

One player tipped to make the move is the Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.

Brighton value Baleba at £100m

The Cameroon star has become one of the best midfielders in the Premier League since joining Brighton from Lille back in 2023.

His club are reported to value him at around £100m, according to a report in TEAMtalk - and Liverpool as well as Man Utd are emerging as a destination for the 21-year-old.

United see Baleba as a fix for their midfield problems - even if Ruben Amorim is fired - but admit that Liverpool would be favourites should they firm up their interest.

Liverpool 'tough to beat' in Baleba race

“Liverpool are also believed to be tracking him and there is a chance they step up to make that more active at the end of the season,” the report reads.

“They could prove tough to beat in the race should they seriously pursue a transfer.”

Baleba has been in decent form for Fabian Hürzeler’s side this season - appearing in six Premier League matches out of six.

He is regarded as one of the coming forces in the English top flight and is contracted with the south coast club until 2028 with the option for a further year.

And so the possibility remains that Liverpool REPEAT their Alexis Mac Allister trick - with the Reds having signed the Argentina World Cup winner from Brighton back in 2023.

He was much cheaper at £35m but if Baleba can replicate Macca's success at Anfield then it will prove to be a very fruitful transfer indeed.

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