Liverpool tipped to sign two more Wolves stars thanks to backroom duo
Liverpool could secure the transfers of two more exciting Wolves stars, thanks to the special connection that exists between the players and two members of the Reds coaching staff, claims a report.
The two Premier League clubs have forged a strong bond in recent times, thanks to a series of deals.
The Reds spent around £41m to sign Portuguese frontman Diogo Jota this summer. He has scored nine goals in 15 appearances and has been branded the signing of the summer by one pundit.
Jota’s success so far at Anfield looks all the more remarkable too thanks to the impressive payment schedule struck by sporting director Michael Edwards.
Furthermore, Liverpool helped fund that move by selling Wolves Ki-Jana Hoever for a fee rising to £13.5m.
Wolves will pay £9m up front with a further £4.5m in add-ons for the teenage defender.
A further link between the two clubs comes from former Reds academy man Conor Coady. While he left Anfield for Huddersfield initially, he retains a strong connection to his boyhood club. Links back to Liverpool are never far away for the Wolves skipper. Indeed, Jamie Carragher failed to catch Coady out when joking he would sign for the club as a replacement for the injured Virgil van Dijk.
However, it’s not Coady who is being tipped to ditch Molineux for Anfield at some point in the future. That ‘honour’ is bestowed to classy Portuguese pair Ruben Neves and Fabio Silva.
That’s after it was revealed that the Wolves duo have a special bond with Liverpool coaches Pep Lijnders and Vitor Matos.
Jurgen Klopp’s No 2 Lijnders worked with Porto prior to Liverpool and knows the pair well. He played a major role in helping bring Jota to Anfield and the trick could be repeated in the future.
With Matos also working at Porto in the past, the Daily Star point out that both Ruben Neves and Fabio Silva could end up at Anfield down the line should they continue to impress.
Lijnders said of Neves back in 2019: “I know him very well, his ambition, his passion for the game, his professionalism. We know what he gives to the team and this type of player always interests us.
“I recognised him when I saw him at Wolves. I saw technique, professionalism and I saw the 2013-14 player I knew.”
The Dutch coach also knows Silva well, though he is more a protege of Matos. Appointed in October 2019, Matos is the Reds elite development coach. Having done a similar role with Porto, he oversaw Silva’s emergence at the Portuguese giants.
Fabio Silva labelled ‘unique’
The 18-year-old cost Wolves an eye-watering £36m over the summer and has been used sparingly by Nuno Espirito Santo so far. He has scored twice in seven appearances so far. However, he could now get a chance to impress with Raul Jimenez set for a spell on the sidelines.
Espirito Santo said of his new forward in September: “What I can tell you and that I’m sure of, Fabio is a huge talent, pure talent. We have to help him develop that talent.
“The priority is to integrate him into the idea of the team and then that allows players to develop.
“It would be a mistake to compare Fabio to any other player because he is unique.”
Klopp’s immediate focus, however, is more likely to be on defensive recruits. To that end, a Bundesliga expert claims Liverpool have a concrete interest in a defender who recently silenced Kylian Mbappe. Read more here….
