Reported Liverpool and AC Milan target Aissa Mandi is free to discuss a move away from La Liga with his Real Betis contract expiring at the end of the season, president Angel Haro told El Desmarque.
Would the experienced Mandi be an intelligent, low-cost addition to Jurgen Klopp’s injury hit backline? Or merely a cheap alternative, a soon-to-be free agent whose status has been elevated beyond all expectations during a period of unprecedented financial uncertainty?
Whatever the answer, Mandi will be a man in demand when his contract runs out on July 1.
According to Estadio Deportivo, the 29-year-old Algeria international is a target for Liverpool, Inter and AC Milan.
And Mandi will know, deep down, that he may never have a better chance to prove himself at one of the elite-level clubs of European football.
President Angel Haro admits that Real Betis will be powerless to prevent his departure. But the in-form La Liga outfit have not given up hope of keeping one of their most influential characters.
“I have a fluid dialogue with Aissa. I have a lot of respect for him as a professional. He is a good player, as well as captain of the team,” Haro says of a commanding central defender snapped up from Ligue 1 side Reims five years ago.
“I am convinced that he has not agreed anything with any team. He is free to do so but it is a vital decision for him to know if he is going to continue (with us).
“The time (to make a decision) is coming up, before the end of the month.”
According to Estadio Deportivo, Mandi wants £30,000-a-week at his next club; a demand that is unlikely to put off a club of Liverpool’s means, especially when you factor in the absence of a transfer fee.
The Merseyside giants came close to landing Mandi in the summer of 2020, although their £9 million bid fell slightly short of Betis’s expectations (Mirror, August 2, page 67).
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