Liverpool working towards deal for star; could reach €90m

Liverpool are reportedly in the mix for a very in-demand France star. They’re working towards a deal and it’s one that could cost €90m.

Liverpool are weighing up their transfer targets for the upcoming windows, with midfielders arguably at the top of the agenda. The Reds came away from the summer down a midfielder, after all.

Curtis Jones left to join Inter but Liverpool never actually replaced him. And this coming out of a window where they really needed to boost the midfield, having lacked defensive options.

It's been seen this season, too. Liverpool have struggled to control games through the middle, be it winning the ball back or plugging gaps on the counter attack.

The answer should be to sign a defensive specialist - someone who can simply make the team more solid with their mere presence. But it sounds as though Liverpool plan on going down another route.

Liverpool line up Manu Kone

Liverpool continue to be linked with AS Roma’s Manu Kone. The midfielder is one of the most in-demand across Europe, with a host of Premier League clubs interested, as well as Paris Saint-Germain.

ASRomaLive are the latest outlet to comment on the player. They claim that his asking price of €60m has skyrocketed, with the Italians expecting something around €90m to get a deal done.

Liverpool, though, aren’t entirely put off by this. They remain interested and TuttoMercatoWeb claim they’re one of the two frontrunners, along with Chelsea.

We’re not sold on the idea. Kone is pretty similar to what Liverpool already have - our Value Adder model has Ryan Gravenberch as the most similar midfielder across Europe’s top five leagues going forward.

And for that much money? He’s never shown anything like the kind of output to justify a price approaching €100m. ASRomaLive do mention that figure as the upper amount, too.

So we’re pretty cautious about this one. Liverpool really do seem to hold an interest, as most of Europe seems to, but the prices here look insane.