Liverpool launch ‘offer’ for Dutch star who wants move, as Harvey Elliott price tag revealed

Liverpool have reportedly submitted a bid for Bologna star Sam Beukema, while it has also been revealed how much Harvey Elliott will cost to prise away from Anfield this month.

Beukema is a 26-year-old centre-back who spent time at FC Twente, Go Ahead Eagles and AZ in the Netherlands before arriving at Bologna in July 2023. The defender made 33 appearances last season as Bologna qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 60 years under the guidance of Thiago Motta.

While Motta – along with top players such as Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee – left the Italian club last summer, Beukema stayed.

The Dutchman has played 23 times this campaign and has even captained Bologna in the Champions League.

Beukema’s solid performances over the past two seasons have seemingly alerted Liverpool. According to the Echo, who cite reports emerging from Italy, Liverpool have made an ‘offer’ for his services.

Several big clubs are thought to be in the race for Beukema, but it is Liverpool who have supposedly begun the bidding. The exact value of the proposal has yet to be revealed.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is already familiar with the player, having failed to sign him during his time in charge of Feyenoord.

Beukema would likely jump at the chance to join Liverpool, should this report prove to be correct.

In October, he said: “I also have ambitions and hope one day to be able to play maybe in the Premier League or another big club.

“I was a fan of West Ham. I once visited Upton Park with my father and I was really impressed, because the atmosphere was similar to that of Feyenoord or Go Ahead Eagles.

“But there are so many fantastic teams in England, so if another great club like Liverpool came along I would be happy to go there one day.”

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Update on Harvey Elliott future

While Beukema could arrive at Anfield in the near future, there is growing talk that Elliott might move on.

The 21-year-old is not a regular starter under Slot and is having to rely on cup competitions for starts.

As per the Daily Mirror, Liverpool have decided how much they will sell Elliott for if clubs approach him this month. The Reds have set his price tag at £35-40m.

It emerged recently that Borussia Dortmund and Brighton & Hove Albion are two of the main clubs keen on Elliott. The versatile star has fantastic potential but is struggling to force his way into Slot’s starting lineup.

Liverpool will make a significant profit if they sell Elliott for close to £40m, having spent less than £5m when capturing him from Fulham in July 2019.

Liverpool transfers: Alexander-Arnold advice; Slot responds to links

Meanwhile, former Liverpool star Emile Heskey thinks Trent Alexander-Arnold could learn from team-mate Mo Salah.

“Players can get distracted, especially when it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world that are showing an interest, and the stakes are high,” Heskey said of Real Madrid’s interest in Alexander-Arnold.

“It takes real mental strength to ignore it. You’re looking at Mo Salah, he’s never dropped his level while everything has been going on with his contract this season.”

There have been suggestions Liverpool might include players such as Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa in a swap deal for Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

When asked about this, Slot replied: “When you said yourself ‘linked with’, I was thinking: ‘Which club is he going to say now?’ But you mean as a club we are linked with Kvaratskhelia.

“What I make of that is that this is January and I think I said it after the West Ham United game [to journalists], please don’t disappoint me, please come up with all these players and all these clubs that are in the interest of us.

“Or the ones that don’t play a lot for us are going to go somewhere else. That [speculation] is what is happening now. And nine out of 10 times or 99 out of 100 times, at the end of the window it’s been clear that almost all of these stories weren’t true. So what can I comment about it? The rumours keep going for it but no comment from my side.”

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