Liverpool ‘in front row’ for luxurious midfield signing as Tottenham transfer battle commences

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are two of the leading suitors for Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, who they might be able to stop joining another Serie A club, according to reports in Italy.

Koopmeiners is a candidate to be sold by Atalanta this summer for big money, much like Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund became last year. The Netherlands international is currently enjoying his third season in Serie A, but his market value may be too high for Atalanta to rule out selling him.

According to Calciomercato, Liverpool and Tottenham are both ‘in the front row’ when it comes to the race to bring Koopmeiners to the Premier League for the first time in his career.

They are both aiming to hijack a deal that would see him move elsewhere within Serie A, since Juventus have been showing an interest in signing him.

The only way Juventus could afford Koopmeiners, though, would be to send Matias Soule – the Argentine winger currently on loan at Frosinone – in the opposite direction as a counterpart, Calciomercato claims.

In contrast, funds might be more readily available for Liverpool and Tottenham, who could consider Koopmeiners as the all-round accomplished midfielder they need to complete their respective departments in his territory.

Often operating in an attacking midfield role this season, but also capable of being a deeper-lying playmaker, Koopmeiners has scored nine goals and added four assists from 28 appearances in 2023/24.

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His value in Atalanta’s eyes has risen towards the €70m (£60m) mark. They have him under contract until 2027, so should be able to hold firm in negotiations.

But they are planning to make one significant sale this summer like they did with Hojlund last year and this time Koopmeiners could be the one on the move.

Will Koopmeiners fit in at Liverpool or Tottenham?

TEAMtalk revealed Liverpool had registered their interest in Koopmeiners back in November, a few months after they evolved their midfield by signing Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch.

There is arguably still one last vacancy in Liverpool’s midfield, which would be in the holding role previously occupied by Fabinho but sometimes covered by Mac Allister since.

Although Koopmeiners has flourished featuring further forward this season, he previously played as a holding midfielder in his first couple of seasons with Atalanta, and before that when he was captain of AZ.

Over at Tottenham, his task could potentially be to replace another more defensive-minded midfielder, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who is approaching the final year of his contract.

Tottenham have utilised the Serie A market well in recent years, previously under the recommendation of former director of football, Fabio Paratici.

Players to have joined Tottenham from Italian clubs include current goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario (ex-Empoli), midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and winger Dejan Kulusevski (both ex-Juventus), defender Radu Dragusin (ex-Genoa) and full-back Destiny Udogie (ex-Udinese).

Then, of course, there is someone Tottenham bought precisely from Atalanta: Cristian Romero, who came to the club on an initial loan deal back in 2021.

Spurs could commence new negotiations with Atalanta, this time for Koopmeiners, who will be 26 by the summer. But Liverpool could well provide them with an obstacle in the battle for his signature.

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