Report: Liverpool want one of three players in 2021; one has £36m release clause

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Virgil van Dijk’s injury could force Liverpool into the transfer market with Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli, Atletico Madrid’s Jose Maria Gimenez and RB Leipzig star Dayot Upamecano on the Premier League champions’ radar, according to Calciomercato.

Manchester City’s title dreams fell apart as soon as Aymeric Laporte limped off against Brighton in September 2019.

13 months on, has the same fate just befallen Jurgen Klopp’s malfunctioning Reds machine?

Liverpool’s once watertight back line had been leaking goals even before Van Dijk was ruled out for somewhere in the region of eight months during Saturday’s Merseyside derby.

The Dutchman’s sudden absence has brutally highlighted the lack of top-class back-up at Klopp’s disposal, with Joel Matip injury prone, Joe Gomez struggling and Fabinho obviously more comfortable in midfield.

It remains to be seen, however, whether Liverpool will dip into their back pockets to sign a Van Dijk replacement when the January window opens.

Considering that the Reds have not made a big-money signing since 2018, the Premier League champions should not be short of cash. Good thing too, given that neither Giminez, Upamecano nor Koulibaly will be going anywhere on the cheap.

Napoli owner Aurelio di Laurentiis told Corriere dello Sport this year that he would not accept a penny less than £90 million for Koulibaly.

But Upamecano – the fearsome Frenchman who is very much built in Van Dijk’s image with his searing pace and superb passing range – has a £36 million release clause in his contract that will come into play next year.

BILD last week backed up claims that Liverpool are among the many admirers of a player who, at 21 and with his best years ahead of him, is almost the definition of a typical Reds signing.

He is eight years younger than Koulibaly and boasts the kind of technical ability that an old-school warrior like Gimenez cannot match.