Liverpool plot damaging TRIPLE raid on Prem rivals with prized young asset the bait

Liverpool are considering a breathtaking triple raid on Premier League rivals Bournemouth this summer and will reportedly offer the Cherries a prized young talent to help facilitate any move, while Fabrizio Romano has confirmed the Reds have asked for specifics around the first of those targets in Dean Huijsen.

The Merseysiders will return to domestic action next Wednesday when they take on Everton at Anfield with a win moving Liverpool a significant step closer towards the Premier League title. Heading into the current international break with a 12-point buffer to nearest challengers Arsenal, the Reds are within touching distance of collecting only their second English league crown in 35 years.

The title win will represent a remarkable first season in charge for Arne Slot who has steered Liverpool towards the pinnacle of the English ladder despite only adding one concrete signing – rarely-seen Italy winger Federico Chiesa – to his squad.

However, all that is about to change this summer with Slot, having taken time to assess his squad’s strengths and weaknesses, given the freedom to spend big ahead of what sources have described to us as a ‘historical summer’.

And with a new left-back at the very top of his wishlist and a long-term heir for Virgil van Dijk also sought, Liverpool have been strongly linked with a double raid on Bournemouth for both Milos Kerkez and Huijsen.

Indeed, TEAMtalk were the very first outlet to reveal the Reds’ interest in the Hungarian left-back, with sources revealing to us in September that the 21-year-old Cherries star figured highly on their wanted list.

However, while Huijsen is also on their radar, a third star of Andoni Iraola’s side is also attracting attention from the Reds, with Slot and Co also weighing up a move for winger Antoine Semenyo.

Now it’s reported that Liverpool are weighing up a damaging triple raid on the south-coast club, with The Sun claiming the Merseysiders could look to sweeten the deal by using star youngster Ben Doak as a makeweight in any raids.

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Kerkez and Huijsen to Liverpool: big clues over transfers

With Andy Robertson slowing down this season and proving not as effective as he was in his pomp, Slot has made the capture of a new left-back a major focus for this summer’s window.

And with Kerkez right at the top of their shortlist, TEAMtalk revealed last week that the Bournemouth defender has used the intrenational break to hold a critical meeting with his agents over his future and to help grease the wheels over an exit from the Vitality Stadium.

That interest was also recently confirmed by trusted journalist James Pearce.

‘Strengthening at left-back is also on the agenda’, he wrote for The Athletic.

‘Milos Kerkez, 21, is highly regarded, but Bournemouth would want around three times the £15.5m they paid AZ for the Hungary international in 2023.

‘Ajax’s Jorrel Hato, 19, is another option.’

The Reds have also been given real belief that a deal for Kerkez will be done after the player’s former coach gave Slot a firm indication that his signing is well within their grasp.

“I think he’s ready to go to a higher level club [than Bournemouth],” Kerkez’s former coach Richard Henczi told Anfield Watch. Who went on to say Kerkez is ‘ready to take the next step’.

“If he wants to go to Liverpool, he will go to Liverpool,” he added.

Kerkez has caught the eye for Iraola’s side this season as they continue their hunt for a European spot for next season.

“I mean he has everything [to be one of the best left-backs],” Henczi continued. “I think he can’t be in the top five left-backs around the world if he plays at a smaller club. So it depends on his next transfer – how many minutes will he play there and how well will he play there?

“[Do they] play in the UEFA Champions League or just the Europa League, and you know, these kinds of decisions. If he gets the chance, I think he has everything to be in the top five or 10 left-backs in the world.”

A move to Anfield could see Kerkez hook up with his international teammate Dominik Szoboszlai and the player himself admits that could prove tempting, though he has been keen to stress he has unfinished business with the Cherries.

“It wouldn’t look bad [working with Szoboszlai at Liverpool], that’s for sure,” Kerkez said.

“But it’s too early to talk about something like that. I have big goals with Bournemouth, we still have a lot of games to win, that’s the most important thing right now.”

As for Huijsen, a £50m clause in his contract ensures a summer move looks almost certain this summer for the stylish defender.

Speaking to Radio MARCA after coming head-to-head with his teammate in the Netherlands’ Nations League play-off against Spain, Cherries winger Justin Kluivert said: “I know that next year he won’t be with us.”

Meanwhile, transfer reporter Romano has also confirmed an approach from the Reds to understand the conditions around his transfer clause.

“Liverpool appreciate Dean Huijsen and have already made some contacts to understand how the release clause works,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

Swoops for all three players could set Liverpool back a combined £135m.

Liverpool transfer latest: Trent move confirmed; Leverkusen star wanted

Meanwhile, multiple outlets on Tuesday morning have all-but confirmed the worst-kept secret in football: that Trent Alexander-Arnold will be signing for Real Madrid this summer.

The move to the Bernabeu will earn the 26-year-old riches beyond his wildest dreams and will set the player up for life, and with TEAMtalk taking a detailed look at the events that led to his imminent move to Spain.

With the Reds, thankfully, having several months for the likely departure of their vice-captain

Thankfully, Liverpool have had plenty of months to plan for this likely scenario and club scouts have been scouring the globe for would-be replacements.

To that end, the Reds are seemingly close to signing Jeremie Frimpong – described as a ‘speed demon’ – as a replacement for Alexander-Arnold, after a report revealed that the Bayer Leverkusen right-back’s hopes of joining another side had faded, leaving Liverpool as his sole suitors.

Elsewhere, speculation that Liverpool want to offload Federico Chiesa at the end of the season have drawn a big response from the player’s father – himself once a top-class star – who has made clear the winger’s future plans at Anfield.

IN-FOCUS: How Huijsen has proved a €15.2m Bournemouth bargain