Liverpool set aside £3m after making bid for Championship starlet

Kaide Gordon

Derby County’s 16-year-old midfielder Kaide Gordon could become the latest talented teenager to be snapped up by Liverpool.

Liverpool signed Calum Scanlon, 15, from Birmingham City last month, before adding Stefan Bajcetic, 16, from Celta Vigo.

Now their are in talks with Derby for Gordon, according to the Derby Telegraph.

In fact the Liverpool Echo claims the club have an initial £1m bid lodged with the Championship side, who are facing financial problems.

If Liverpool can persuade the midfielder to swap Derby for Liverpool then the add-ons could take the deal up to £3m.

According to the Echo, Manchester United and Tottenham are also interested in the player, who made his senior debut for the Rams as a substitute in the 4-0 win against Birmingham at the end of December.

He has featured regularly in Wayne Rooney’s squad but cannot sign a professional deal until his 17th birthday in October.

Rooney has admitted the club rate the player highly.

Rooney said: “Kaide is a fantastic player and he has got a lot of potential.

 

 

“He has come through the academy. He is 16, he has got a lot of development to do and he is definitely at the right place to do that.

“Of course there will be interest in Kaide because he is a fantastic player, so we expect there to be interest in him.

“We can control what we are doing at this football club, but we can’t control if other teams make bids for our players.”

Sokratis for free?

Meanwhile, Liverpool have reportedly made a move to sign former Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos on a free transfer.

The Reds have seen their defensive options hugely impacted this season after serious injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez. Jurgen Klopp has also been further frustrated by Joel Matip’s ongoing injury problems.

Indeed, their lack of options there has led to Jamie Carragher suggesting they face a huge fight to finish in the top four.

Fabinho has been forced to fill in at the back, with Jordan Henderson too often called upon.

However, Henderson’s absence, together with Matip’s failure to even make the squad, leaves Klopp with a problem. Spending their way out of trouble this month has already been ruled out by owners FSG, Klopp has confirmed.

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