KV Mechelen may be forced to sell Liverpool target Aster Vranckx if they receive an offer that simply cannot be refused, board member Gert van Dyck has told GVA.
A deep-lying playmaker in the Frenkie de Jong mould, this is probably the kind of signing we should expect at Anfield over the next few months.
Liverpool have already decided against pursuing that much-discussed deal for Timo Werner and, with the purse-strings being kept tight at Anfield, the likes of Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz may be heading elsewhere too.
But while many on Merseyside may be frustrated by an apparent reluctance to add top-class talent to a star-studded squad, Liverpool are at least working hard behind the scenes to ensure that the future is bright on the red half of Stanley Park.
The Mirror reported that Vranckx could be available for as little as £1.5 million with Liverpool rivalling Bayern Munich and Manchester City for his signature.
And while Mechelen would love to keep their prized asset, the Jupiler League outfit are under no illusions that the teenager’s future probably lies elsewhere.
“The club wants to keep paying a lot of attention to the youth. We definitely hope to keep Aster, although of course you never know whether there will be an offer that cannot be refused,” Van Dyck admits.
“But they are our diamonds. And they are expensive, aren’t they?”
For Liverpool, £1.5 million is not likely to be classed as a particularly ‘expensive’ signing of course.
Vranckx is a mature and composed midfielder who plays like a seasoned veteran, controlling the tempo from his number six role.
Similarities can be drawn with Pedro Chirivella and, with the Spaniard out of contract, Vranckx could perhaps replace a man five years his senior at Anfield.
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