Irresistible £70m offer will see Liverpool land 24-year-old Germany star

Liverpool are in the midst of a significant centre-back overhaul.

That process started last summer with the signing of Giovanni Leoni - and will continue later in 2026 when Jeremy Jacquet arrives.

The need for new central defenders is partly due to uncertainty over Ibrahima Konate’s contract. With a deal expiring in 2026 Konate looks set to leave for nothing and a gap will open up for a new starting defender.

While Leoni and Jacquet are among the most promising young defensive talents in Europe throwing them in at the deep end might be a risk.

That’s why links with more senior options make sense - with it now being claimed in Fussball Daten that Richard Hughes is in the race to sign Malick Thiaw.

“Liverpool are reportedly targeting him as their top priority to fill the potential void left by Ibrahima Konaté,” the report reads.

“Officially, Thiaw remains "not for sale," but insiders report that the club is preparing for "irresistible" offers.”

Malick Thiaw: Situation summary

Malick Thiaw is the centre‑back Newcastle signed when they finally stopped window‑shopping and paid for their long‑term anchor.

He arrived from AC Milan in August 2025 for a package worth about £34m–£35m, on a four‑year deal to 2029 and wages in the region of £66,500 per week.

Eddie Howe had tracked him for years and sold the move on the promise of being the defensive reference point in a young side rather than just another cog in a super‑club machine.

On the pitch, Thiaw has delivered exactly that: 40‑plus games in his debut season, virtually ever‑present minutes in the Premier League and a blend of size, recovery speed and front‑foot aggression that Newcastle have tried and failed to buy before.

That combination – 24 years old, Germany international, proven in Serie A and now England – is why Manchester United and, at one stage, Bayern Munich have been linked, with talk of a valuation around £80m (roughly €93m).

For now, Newcastle’s message is that he is not for sale; in reality, they know they’ve landed the kind of modern defensive hybrid others are now queueing up to pay Champions League prices for.

Analysis

Liverpool have been linked with several senior defenders - players who could be ready to step in from the get-go and take over from Konate.

Recruiting for the future is one thing but having fit-and-ready experienced campaigners is vital for the Premier League champions.

The report states that Newcastle will want £70m for Thiaw - in the event they sell - meaning the Reds going to close to their record sum paid for a defender.

Also in the running are Manchester United and Bayern Munich as the transfer race for one of the continent’s most in-demand defensive talents hots up.

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