Liverpool
Premier League • England
Liverpool stunned as Euro giant bid for midfield target; issue hampering Klopp revealed
Arthur Melo has shone since leaving Liverpool
Napoli have opened the bidding for a confirmed Liverpool target in midfield, and why Jurgen Klopp might be usurped has been explained.
The Reds remain on the hunt for further additions in midfield in the final month of the window. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have been added, though Klopp is yet to sign a recognised holding midfielder.
Fabinho’s unexpected exit to Al Ittihad leaves Liverpool without an established and specialised player to anchor the midfield.
Mac Allister was deployed in the role during Liverpool’s final pre-season friendly against Darmstadt on Monday night. The Reds won 3-1 and Mac Allister played well, though it’s not the position he or Klopp had in mind when plucking the Argentine from Brighton.
A third bid has been lodged for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia. The latest effort totalled £45m and given it fell short of the Saints’ £50m valuation, it was predictably rejected.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed negotiations with Southampton will continue, thus suggesting a fourth bid may well be in the works.
Elsewhere, Liverpool are a confirmed admirer of Celta Vigo ace, Gabri Veiga.
CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs recently confirmed Liverpool scouted the attacking midfielder whose deal with Celta contains a €40m release clause.
A conversation was even held between a senior Liverpool figure and Celta manager Rafael Benitez. The hope there was the ex-Liverpool boss could steer Veiga towards Anfield.
However, any such hopes have taken a blow after Romano revealed Napoli have thundered in with a €30m bid.
The offer falls €10m short of the release fee and as such, has been rebuffed. However, the transfer guru insisted the story won’t end there when declaring “negotiations continue”.
Veiga could be considered as the would-be replacement for Piotr Zielinski in Naples. The Serie A champions look set to lose the Poland international to Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli.
Per Calciomercato, Zielinski has been offered a net salary worth €14m-€15m per season. That equates to a take-home pay of £240,000-a-week which represents a huge increase on what he earns at Napoli right now.
A €20m bid is likely to be accepted and Napoli could return with a new bid for Veiga once Zielinski’s future is wrapped up.
Of course, Liverpool could act and simply trigger the release clause of a player they clearly admire.
However, according to Jacobs, convincing Veiga to say yes to Liverpool might be more difficult than you’d think.
Liverpool will struggle to give Veiga what he wants
Explaining why, Jacobs revealed the player’s non-negotiable demand that he play regularly might be difficult for Klopp to satisfy.
New signings Mac Allister and Szoboszlai – as well as Thiago Alcantara – won’t be dislodged from the box-to-box positions easily.
“There’s a release clause there, there’s plenty of Premier League clubs who are looking at the player,” confirmed Jacobs on Twitter.
“And game time is going to be quite important to Gabri Veiga as well. I know for example, Liverpool haven’t moved for Veiga, but they scouted him.
“There was a recent conversation between someone senior at Liverpool and Benitez and the feeling was that there might be an opportunity to sign and loan back because the player’s so adamant that if he moves to a big Premier League club, he needs instant game time.
“I’m not convinced that anyone out of the big Premier League clubs would be able to offer him that.”