Three Premier League clubs, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, Carlo Ancelotti’s Toffees and Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur, reportedly want Marash Kumbulla.
Hellas Verona coach Ivan Juric has admitted that Marash Kumbulla will be very difficult to replace amid claims that Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur want the Serie A starlet, in quotes reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
With talented young centre-halves at a premium these days, an Albanian international with just 18 Serie A appearances under his belt is quickly emerging as one of the most coveted players on the continent – and there is quite a sum on his head too.
Liverpool are interested in the £25 million-rated Kumbulla, according to TuttoNapoli, with Everton and Tottenham also casting admiring glances in his direction.
Despite only leaving his teenage years behind him two weeks ago, Kumbulla is already one of the first names on the team sheet of a club sitting pretty in eighth place during their first season back in Serie A.
And Juric, the coach who handed Kumbulla his big break, is already aware that Hellas Verona have no one in their ranks currently capable of stepping up and replacing arguably Italian football’s most highly-rated young defender.
“No boy is ready (to be promoted to the first-team). There’s not another Kumbulla,” said the former Genoa boss. “But (the academy players) certainly have potential.”
Hellas Verona look set to make a massive profit on a player who rose through the ranks at the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi. But, even with £25 million burning a hole in their pocket, filling a Kumbulla-shaped void in Juric’s backline will be easier said than done.
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