Liverpool were linked with a move for Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger in October.
According to Eurosport, Liverpool are keen on bringing the Germany international to Anfield next summer.
That is when Rudiger’s Chelsea contract expires and as things stand, he’s leaving Stamford Bridge on a free.
The 28-year-old has been a real colossus for the West Londoners since Thomas Tuchel took the reins.
And a move to Liverpool would be a huge boost for Jurgen Klopp, even if he already has a number of very capable central defenders.
Paul Merson has told The Daily Star that Rudiger is ‘definitely leaving’ Chelsea and believes it could cost them as much as £70 million to sign a replacement.
He said: “Chelsea are going to miss Antonio Rudiger when he goes because it will take £60-70m to replace him.
“Rudiger is definitely leaving. If he wanted to sign a new contract he would have done it by now. There’s no chance he stays now.
“Teams will be queuing round the block now to sign him, and someone will pay him a lorryload of money to join them.”
Could Liverpool sign him?
Honestly, yes.
Klopp has Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip as centre-back options.
But Matip has a rotten injury record and Gomez has been linked with a move to Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa.
There just may be room for the Chelsea powerhouse and it’ll be fascinating to see whether the Anfield side really are interested.
Merson is right in saying that he’s almost certainly leaving and time will tell whether Liverpool will be in that queue that the Sky pundit speaks of.
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