Liverpool have made a £9 million bid for Real Betis defender Aissa Mandi with the Algerian refusing to extend his contract at the La Liga outfit, according to Spanish publication Cope.
With almost every football club on Earth forced to change their plans in light of an unprecedented global situation, Betis’s hopes of keeping a 28-year-old centre-half in Andalusia appear to have gone up in smoke.
As reported by Estadio Deportivo in May, Mandi was set to sign a new deal at Betis a few months ago.
But it seems that he had a change of heart during lockdown as wanderlust set in.
Mandi will be 29 in October and he knows, in his heart of hearts, that he is in last-chance saloon if he wants to join one of the biggest teams in Europe.
And with Liverpool knocking on the door, the former Reims star appears to have been handed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put pen to paper with the reigning Premier League and European champions.
After selling Dejan Lovren to Zenit St Petersburg, Cope suggests that Liverpool have turned to Mandi as they look to fill a hole at the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s backline.
If Real Betis are wiling to accept their £9 million bid, and they might given that Mandi will be a free agent this time next year, the Algeria international will move to Anfield for £2 million less than the fee brought in by Lovren’s departure.
This, then, feels like another inspired piece of business from the undisputed kings of the transfer market.
Mucho Deporte reported in midweek that Mandi would jump at the chance to join Klopp’s star-studded squad.
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