In recent weeks, Khephren Thuram of Nice has been linked with a transfer to Liverpool.
What happens with regards to the takeover situation at Manchester United could end up having a knock-on effect to Liverpool’s pursuit of OGC Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram.
The Reds have been linked with the 22-year-old, who is the son of Juventus and Parma legend Lilian Thuram. Representatives of the young Frenchman have reportedly held held talks with Liverpool over a potential move to Anfield as Jurgen Klopp seeks to add his second midfield recruit following the
According to French media outlet L’Equipe, Nice are seeking as much as €60m (£51.4m) for Thuram this summer – a fee that analysts at the CIES Football Observatory, which uses a variety of metrics to determine transfer market value, agree with based on their latest insights.
There are other factors that could impact any deal and willingness to get it done, as well as any leverage that Liverpool could have, including what is going in the background at Nice at present, with the owners of the club, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS, currently in advanced negotiations for a takeover of Manchester United.
Ratcliffe is reported to remain the frontrunner to be the new owner of United despite a final, take-it-or-leave-it fifth offer being presented to the club’s current owners, the Glazer family, by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
As the takeover saga rumbles on at Old Trafford it is, according to L’Equipe, causing some issues at the Allianz Riviera, with Nice said to be impacted with regards to their budget should the successful takeover of the Red Devils come to fruition.
Nice are in search of as many as five new recruits according to French media, and as they bid to improve on what was a disappointing ninth-placed finish in Ligue 1, with a potentially limited budget available through any prospective takeover of Mam United, considering what to do with their key assets, notably Thuram and Jean-Clair Todibo, will be of paramount importance and something that they will need to make a decision on swiftly.
A potential need to sell players to aid a tighter budget next season could be something that plays into Liverpool’s hands in a play for Thuram, giving the Reds some leverage in any negotiations given that Nice will likely be heavily reliant on recouping money for their stars in order to reinvest in other areas.
Leverage is something that Liverpool have often looked for when entering into the transfer market and searching for the right players at the right price. In the case of Luis Diaz’s arrival from Porto back in January 2022, the Reds were able to get the Colombian in for £18m less than his release clause as they made an offer, with the promise of a significant instant payment, at the end of the window. Porto had debt obligations that needed meeting imminently during discussions, and Liverpool were able to solve that particular need while negotiating the signing of the winger for a significantly reduced sum.
Leave a Reply