Liverpool are ready to take the next step in rebuilding their midfield as the European Under-21 Championship kicks off this week.
After signing Alexis McAllister from Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this month by triggering a release clause believed to be worth £35m, the Reds’ recruitment team have turned their attentions elsewhere.
Kefren Thuram of OGC Nice in French Ligue 1 is near the top of the shortlist, while the ECHO understands Celta Vigo’s Gabry Veiga is also being rated after an excellent La Liga campaign in which he scored 11 goals.
Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch has been a long-time target, but much depends on new manager Thomas Tuchel’s plans, with the pair set to sit down later this summer.
Liverpool reportedly held positive discussions with representatives of Gravenberger earlier this year but are awaiting developments in Bavaria as Tuchel settles into his first summer with the Bundesliga champions.
Gravenberg and Thuram are represented by agent Rafaela Pimenta, who visited Anfield earlier this year amid a January link with the Bayern Munich man. The Brazilian lawyer sent Thuram speculation into high gear last week when he posted a photo of the Nice headquarters on his Instagram account.
“I just want to play more, preferably at Bayern,” Gravenberch told De Telegraaf last week. “Otherwise at a club where I will play 100%. This is my preference. I don’t want to have another year like the one I just had. I really learned a lot from her. But I just want to play football.
“I haven’t spoken to the coach about it yet, it will happen after the Euros when I come back from Georgia and Romania. Then we’ll see how things go.”
Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Manu Kone is another under consideration after impressive performances in Germany last term and the Reds are weighing up their next move following the early arrival of top target Mac Allister, who signed a five-year deal less than two weeks after the Premier League ended.
With all four set to feature for their respective nations, the prospect of having to send a delegation to Romania and Georgia, where the tournament is being held, is a possibility for Liverpool as they look to build on the capture of McAllister.
Thuram and Kone could be part of the France squad to meet Italy in Cluj on Thursday, while Dutch star Gravenberch could feature in the opening action when Oranje Jong play Belgium at Tbilisi’s Meski Stadium.
Veiga, who reportedly has a release clause of around £34m, is expected to feature for Spain against Romania in Bucharest on Wednesday night. Southampton’s Romeo Lavia also has his admirers, but the Belgium Under-21 international will not feature in the competition as he was forced to withdraw last week through injury.
While Liverpool would ideally use their own facilities for a player’s medical, McAllister’s latest tests were carried out at a center in Manchester to avoid extra attention to the impending arrival, while Luis Diaz, who signed from Porto in January 2022 ., was checked out in Argentina after the club sent a squad to South America before he took part in a match for Colombia.
And while there is no indication that the Reds have yet been cleared to arrange medicals with any of their transfer targets, the fact that all four will be in the same region in the coming weeks is likely to be seen as a welcome development as the club watches closely behind the scenes.
New sporting director Jörg Schmadke will take the lead in negotiations until the end of the window, having officially joined at the start of June on a short-term deal. The addition of McAllister marks something of a handover from Julian Ward, whose ten-year spell at Liverpool ended at the start of the month.
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