Liverpool ready to bid for £51m ace

Liverpool gained the Premier League final season, and they’re performing prefer it. Arne Slot’s aspect have spent rather a lot this summer season, and there’s extra nonetheless to come back, with FSG recognising the significance of consolidating this place of energy.

With Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike on the cusp of sealing his £79m transfer to Merseyside, Liverpool have the Darwin Nunez improve they crave.

Although a lot work has been plied in the summertime market, there’s extra to be accomplished. Luis Diaz is slated to maneuver to Bayern Munich, in spite of everything.

Ought to he go away, there isn’t any query that the Reds might want to discover themselves a substitute.

Liverpool’s shortlist of Diaz replacements

With Diaz wanting an increasing number of prone to go away Liverpool this summer season, the likes of Actual Madrid’s Rodrygo and Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon have been touted as potential replacements.

The issue with such targets is that they might price a steep amount of cash. Maybe too steep. Whereas Liverpool might pull such offers off and stay inside revenue and sustainability good books, would it not not be extra worthwhile to focus on an up-and-comer for a shrewder determine, with a lot high quality already inside Slot’s squad?

That is why the Reds are seemingly able to lodge a bid for Lyon’s Malick Fofana, who has been making waves in Ligue 1 over the previous 18 months.

In keeping with studies, the sale of Chiesa will advance FSG’s switch plans, with the Belgium winger having been on Liverpool’s radar for a lot of months. The Merseysiders are “anticipated to maneuver for the Belgian” as soon as the Italian departs.

Lyon worth the 20-year-old as excessive as £51m, however Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes can be set on securing his signature for a less expensive charge, chopped into instalments.

Why Liverpool ought to signal Malick Fofana

Fofana is a high expertise, however he is not but even sighted the horizon on which his full potential is surmounted. Nonetheless, throughout 62 appearances with Lyon (whom he joined from Belgium membership Genk in January 2024), he is scored 15 objectives and equipped seven assists.

Final time period, the versatile winger hit 17 aim contributions regardless of solely beginning 23 matches throughout all competitions.

There is a lengthy strategy to go, however Fofana would possibly even emerge as an excellent larger expertise than Ekitike in the long term, who’s at an additional stage of their improvement proper now, true, however with Fofana already doing in addition to he has over the previous few years, there’s little query that he could possibly be among the many most interesting wideman in soccer in only a few years.

And taking a look at how Slot succeeds at teaching younger skills to unimaginable ranges, that is underscored additional. Journalist Antonio Mango has drawn consideration to Fofana’s “game-changing potential”, whereas journalist Dev Bajwa has praised his “electrical” tempo.

Ought to Liverpool promote Diaz, that is the person to go for. And that is with out even shining a lightweight on Cody Gakpo, who performed with regularity off the left flank for Slot’s crew final time period and thus would ease the burden {that a} teenager like Fofana would shoulder when making their means onto the senior Premier League stage.

You want solely take a look at Ekitike’s development lately. The 23-year-old left Reims for Paris Saint-Germain in a £30m deal in 2022 (rejecting Newcastle United) the place he acquired misplaced within the crowd and jumped over to the Bundesliga, with Frankfurt.

Ekitike’s remaining time period in Ligue 1 was with PSG in 2022/23, and from that peripheral marketing campaign you maybe do not get essentially the most correct gauge on his ability set throughout that youthful stage in his homeland.

However the season earlier than, with Reims, makes a firmer remark. From that, we are able to look at the teenage Frenchman’s high quality and see how he compares to Fofana, who turned 20 in March.

Ekitike is a centre-forward, however he is cellular and athletically dynamic. At that time in his journey, the soon-to-be Liverpool star was fielded out on the left, arcing inwards in a exhibiting of that pure predilection for goalscoring.

Each, moreover, are agency defensive presences, tackling at a charge that bespeaks their high quality as their aspect’s first line of defence.

However objectives are Fofana’s forte, and his innate scientific edge might see him grow to be an much more harmful pressure than Ekitike, who’s three years his senior.

Fofana ranked among the many high 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers throughout Europe’s high 5 leagues final season for non-penalty objectives scored and the highest 2% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref, completely illustrating that whipped mix of tempo and efficiency.

It goes with out saying that there could be a interval of transition by which Fofana wouldn’t carry out with the graceful completeness of Diaz, not look on the identical stage as Ekitike (who would possibly himself require a little bit of time to adapt to the tempo of the English sport).

However, nonetheless, Liverpool might strike gold by opting towards spending one thing within the £100m ballpark on one in all Gordon or Rodrygo and as a substitute spending a extra astute determine on Fofana, who’s younger and proficient and hungry to show himself.

It might be a greater deal in the long term, and one which might see Liverpool benefit from the fruits of their labour which could have grown the extensive ahead into one in all Europe’s most feared gamers all the identical.