Liverpool have now scheduled talks with Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram after the Premier League giants made Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister their first signing of the summer.
Danny Murphy, when hearing that Liverpool had backed out of the race to sign the Real Madrid-bound Jude Bellingham, made the point that – for the £100 million-plus fee Dortmund were demanding – Jurgen Klopp could potentially sign two new midfielders rather than splurge the entirety of his budget on just the one.
“(Signing Bellingham) would seem illogical really,” Murphy told talkSPORT (12 April, 11am).
“I would prefer to see two or three come in for the price of one, if the ‘one’ is going to cost £120 – £130 million. There are lots of terrific players. And if your recruitment is good – if you know what you need and want – you can go and get it.”
Murphy might have been wide of the mark when he suggested that Declan Rice and Mason Mount could end up at Anfield; the England pair expected to join Arsenal and Manchester United instead. But the overall argument was sound.
Liverpool want more midfielders after signing Alexis Mac Allister
Liverpool paid just £35 million to take World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton; the Argentine’s move finally confirmed on Thursday. And The Reds are now turning their attention to a pair of fleet-footed Frenchmen who would cost a mere fraction of the fee Real are investing in Bellingham.
“Liverpool have scheduled a round of talks with the agents of Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram,” Fabrizio Romano writes on Twitter.
“No bid submitted yet but both players remain on the list. The Reds will plan for next signing in the midfield after Mac Allister deal now finally completed.”
Kone and Thuram are two midfielders very much in the Klopp mould; young, athletic, aggressive, offering a blend of tenacity and technique.
The Daily Mail believe that Nice’s Thuram – brother of Marcus and son of Lillian – will cost £52 million. Borussia Monchengladbach’s Kone should come a little cheaper, at £44 million.
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