Liverpool supporters are relatively confused at the moment. Inside the past few weeks, both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have been allowed to leave Anfield and move to Saudi Arabia, with the Reds very much reinforcing the notion of a new dawn on Merseyside.
With the two midfielders appearing somewhat over the hill in comparison to the past, selling the duo could easily be interpreted as the right call. However, with the new Premier League campaign scheduled to start this weekend, no replacement has yet been found for either player.
Going into the high-profile opener against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, Jürgen Klopp is currently without a specialist holding midfielder within his squad, with Fabinho and Henderson both having departed. Stefan Bajčetić and Thiago Alcântara could have helped out, but the two are still working their way back from injury at present and played no part in any pre-season fixtures.
Liverpool looks likely to navigate its trip to Stamford Bridge without the assistance of a defensive-minded midfielder, with many supporters baffled as to why Klopp seems to be hesitating in the market. Roméo Lavia appears to be the only concrete target right now, but he is still just 19 years old.
The Reds have made three bids for his signature in the past fortnight, but all of them have been rejected by Southampton. The Saints suffered relegation from the Premier League last term but despite that, around $64m (£50m/€58m) is still being demanded by the south coast club.
Liverpool is almost standing still in the transfer market, but behind the scenes, everything could be under control. The market is virtually impossible to predict at times, but big-money moves often have ripple effects, with Real Madrid very much interested in attracting Kylian Mbappé to Spain this summer.
The future Ballon d’Or winner is unhappy in the French capital, with Paris Saint-Germain starting an internal war against its star player.
Over the past month, Mbappé has been training with a group of players who are essentially for sale at PSG, including the likes of Leandro Paredes and ex-Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum. The French superstar wasn’t allowed to take part in his club’s pre-season tour of Japan, with plenty of noise surrounding his name at the moment.
PSG shirts with Mbappé’s name on the back are no longer available to purchase in official club stores, Gol reports, with all of the commotion effectively stemming from the 24-year-old forward informing his employers that he will not be extending his current contract, which is due to expire next summer.
As a consequence of the chaos in Paris, Madrid seems like a very realistic destination for Mbappé in the coming weeks, with the window scheduled to close at the end of the month. It remains to be seen whether the Spanish giants will table an offer for him, but even despite his unhappiness, it is reasonable to suggest that he will still cost an extortionate amount in wages and transfer fees.
Real Madrid could end up in a position whereby funds have to be raised in order to land Mbappé’s signature, which is what Liverpool could be waiting for. One of the players who could suddenly become available, as Jamie Carragher posited on The Overlap this week, is a certain Aurélien Tchouaméni, who Klopp tried to sign from AS Monaco 12 months ago.
