Liverpool news and transfers LIVE – Khephren Thuram talks, Manu Kone links, Jorg Schmadtke appointed

Hello and welcome to the ECHO’s dedicated Liverpool news and transfers blog on Tuesday, May 30.

Liverpool’s torrid season is now over with eyes firmly fixated on what happens in the upcoming weeks with the transfer window looming.

The Premier League window will open at the beginning of June with the Reds frequently linked with bolstering their squad. On Monday, it had been reported that a bid had already been made for Barcelona defender Jules Kounde.

Meanwhile, Adrian – who is out of contract in the summer – is reportedly on the verge of penning new terms at Anfield. The Spaniard has been on Merseyside since 2019.

Yesterday, the ECHO reported that an unnamed club had a bid rejected for Fabio Carvalho. Liverpool want to keep the midfielder but he has courted interest after registering one start since the end of December.

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Keep tabs on the latest news, views and Liverpool FC transfer rumours below.

21:50Charlotte Coates

Talks confirmed

SportBild’s Christian Falk confirms talks are underway between Liverpool and Manu Kone ahead of a summer move.

21:02Charlotte Coates

More midfield links

According to BILD, Liverpool have entered the race for Borussia Monchengladbach’s midfielder Manu Kone and have been in contact with his agents to express their interest. The Frenchman’s team describe the interest as ‘genuine’ and ‘significant’ as talks start with a price in the region of €40-45 million.

Would be some coup for the Reds as activity is beginning to heat up!

Kouadio Kone of Moenchengladbach

19:15Charlotte Coates

What Thuram would bring

If Liverpool were to pull off the signing of Khephren Thuram, they would be signing a player who would bring much needed power and elegance to the midfield.

The 6’4 Frenchman is a great ball carrier, but is also a very good dual winner. He has also played on the left of a midfield three for Nice, so would slot into that role under Jurgen Klopp.

Khephren Thuram of Nice during the UEFA Europa Conference League quarterfinal second leg match between OGC Nice (OGCN) and FC Basel 1893 at Allianz Riviera stadium on April 20, 2023.

18:28Charlotte Coates

Khephren Thuram update

Liverpool are pushing to sign Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram, according to L’Équipe.

“However, Liverpool will face still competition from other clubs. Nice are currently not keen on selling, and L’Équipe have previously reported that Les Aiglons value their midfielder at €60m.”

Get Football News France have the full story.

17:31Charlotte Coates

Bruno Guimaraes ‘contact’

Liverpool, alongside Barcelona, have ‘made contact’ with Bruno Guimaraes over a potential summer signing, according to GOAL.

The Reds are keen on rejuvenating their midfield this summer and have identified the Newcastle star as someone to do so, however, getting him out of the North East will come at a cost.

The Magpies are planning on offering the 25-year-old a new deal that will see him in the top five of the Premier League’s highest paid players.

Guimaraes is thought to be favouring a contract extension at St James’ Park.

Newcastle United maestro Bruno Guimaraes arrived at St James’ Park in a £35million deal from Lyon last January (Image: Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

16:19Charlotte Coates

Liverpool have a new rival?

Liverpool will reportedly face competition from Manchester City for Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, according to the Mirror.

City and Liverpool were both looking at signing Jude Bellingham, but the Reds pulled out of the move and City are expected to lose out to Real Madrid.

The Netherlands international is highly rated despite his tough campaign in Munich since completing a move from Ajax last summer.

Ryan Gravenberch and Josko Gvardiol battle for the ball during the Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig at the Allianz Arena last weekend (Image: Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

15:02Keifer MacDonald

Everton ‘flop’ was wanted by Jurgen Klopp claims agent

Jean-Philippe Gbamin was wanted by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp prior to his mega-money switch to Everton, according to the player’s agent.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Bernard Collignon said: “We will have to find another project for him. I am the one who chose Everton for him because it would have been a stepping stone to move on elsewhere.

“There was interest from Arsenal, Tottenham and even Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign him for Liverpool six months before but now Jean-Philippe wants to go back to Germany.”

14:45Keifer MacDonald

Incredible footage shows moment Anfield Road roof is removed as £80m project takes next step

The process of removing the old Anfield Road End roof has begun with the £80m redevelopment entering the next stage ahead of its opening in August.

The stadium redevelopment, which will add a further 7,000 seats and increase the ground’s capacity to over 61,000, is the third such major scheme of Fenway Sports Group’s 13-year tenure on Merseyside and follows the building of a new Main Stand in 2016 and the AXA Training Centre in 2020.

Now, 20 months on from Reds manager Jurgen Klopp providing a ground-breaking dig at the site in September 2021, the development has reached its final stages with new footage from KC Imageworks capturing the stand’s current roof being cut in half and later removed by two crawler cranes that have been carefully assembled on the Anfield turf.

Later in the video, the left side of the roof is eventually removed and lifted carefully onto the turf, where specialist protective equipment has been placed, after numerous testing at the club’s training centre on identical pitches, to avoid any long-lasting damage.

Following Liverpool’s final game of the season against Aston Villa on May 20, a four-week slot was designated for the process to be completed ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

However, as was the case with the opening of the Main Stand in 2016, the Reds have made a request to the Premier League for their first game of the new season to be scheduled away from home in order for the grand opening of the additional 7,000-seater stand to be fine-turned ahead of its first welcoming of supporters in late August 2023.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision to the ECHO earlier this month, Paul Cuttill, vice president of stadium operations at Liverpool Football Club, said: “We get asked each year and we’ve put in a request for our first game of the season to be away from home.

“We haven’t had that confirmed yet by the Premier League, I must stress. However, if it is confirmed, we’re looking at around August 19 for our first home game of the new season to be played here with the Anfield Road stand open, brand new.

“We’re on time and we’re on budget. It’s been an incredibly challenging time to get to this point and we’ve got a four-week window after our last home game when we remove the roof and that is going to be the next big milestone. We need to hit that to kick on and make sure we’re on track to be ready in time for the start of the 23/24 season.”

On Monday, the process of removing the old Anfield Road End roof began (Credit KC Imageworks – YouTube)

14:30Keifer MacDonald

Oxlade-Chamberlain breaks silence on Liverpool exit

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain insists he still wants to be successful wherever he ends up next – insisting his time at Liverpool has “been the best years ever.”

Speaking to MirrorFootball, the 29-year-old said: ““I still want success, I’ve had a taste of it here, they’ve been the best years ever. So, if by any chance, I can have another sniff of achieving anything like that again then I’d bite your hand off.

“I’m still hungry, I still feel I have a lot of games left in me and a lot of energy left in me. I don’t like to say a point to prove, but that’s always been my attitude. From when I went to Arsenal, I felt like that. When I went to Liverpool, that’s how I felt. When I walked through the door, I felt like I needed to do that. It’s the same again. To prove myself and to prove the people out there to show what I’m capable of still doing.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during Liverpool farewell. (Image: hoto by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

13:50Stephen Killen

Jurgen Klopp: “What a player he is”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has paid tribute to the departing Naby Keita.

The Guinean is a free agent in a couple of weeks as his Liverpool contract expires. He will leave Anfield winning almost every trophy available to him after trophy-laden spell on Merseyside.

The German told Liverpoolfc.com: “Naby is an exceptional footballer, what a player he is. Maybe one or two injuries too many just hindered him from getting really through.

“But if you go through – and I would really recommend that – if you go through our really big games of Liverpool FC you might be surprised how often Naby was in the starting line-up and how often he played incredibly well.

“It was a bit of a shame, when it was really going well then a little injury here, a little muscle thing there. That was not too cool and that is probably what people might remember as well, but in his moment he is world-class, without a shadow of a doubt.

“And I wish him the best of luck because he as well won absolutely everything here at Liverpool, which not a lot of people can say.”

Naby Keita of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on April 06, 2023 in Kirkby, England.

12:38Keifer MacDonald

Jord Schmadtke breaks silence on Liverpool move

Speaking to Sport1, Schmadtke said “We’re [myself and Klopp] not that close to each other. We were in the Bundesliga at the same time. He as a coach, I as a sports director, you know each other.

“I know his advisor Marc Kosicke better. He maintains a good exchange with the owners of Liverpool FC. When the current sporting director announced that he wanted to leave for personal reasons, Marc told them: ‘If you are looking for an older and experienced manager for the transfer period, you might want to look into Jörg Schmadtke from Germany’.

Liverpool has confirmed Jörg Schmadtke as its new sporting director. (Image: Photo by RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

12:11Keifer MacDonald

Jorg Schmadtke ‘poor but sexy’ strategy saw him sign ‘mad’ Liverpool striker

No sooner had it emerged that Liverpool were in talks with veteran Jorg Schmadtke, and that the German had emerged as a surprise front-runner to become the Reds’ next sporting director, Kopites took to their respective online search engines of choice.

First on the Google search history – ‘Who is Jorg Schmadtke?’ But after that initial dive, there was something else supporters quickly wanted to know – ‘Jorg Schmadtke’s best signings’.

With the 59-year-old previously serving as sporting director at Alemannia Aachen, Hannover 96, FC Koln, and VfL Wolfsburg, the results were perhaps a little uninspiring. Sure there would be recognisable names, like Manchester United strikers past and present, but no-one that really jumped off the page as an elite success story, who would prompt excitement amongst supporters regarding Schmadtke’s potential Anfield arrival.

Schmadtke has now checked in and been confirmed at Anfield. He will officially begin his new role on Thursday.

But with Liverpool’s outgoing sporting director Julian Ward responsible for teeing up some of their existing summer transfer business, it will be a number of months before we’ll really be able to judge the fruits of Schmadtke’s labour.

Still, there was one name on the list of the German’s former signings that could have caught the eye of Reds supporters – former Liverpool striker Erik Meijer.

Read the lowdown from Theo Squires, here.

10:27Keifer MacDonald

RB Leipzig eyed Carvalho

According to a report from the Times, RB Leipzig made an attempt to free Fabio Carvalho from his current Liverpool struggles by making a permanent offer for the 20-year-old.

The ECHO reported on Monday that the Reds had dismissed an offer from an unnamed club for the former Fulham youngster, who has found minutes hard to come by at Anfield this season.

But according to the Times, it was Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig who looked to prise Carvalho away from England.

Fábio Carvalho has featured little for Liverpool in 2023. (Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

10:03KEY EVENT

Liverpool appoint new sporting director as Jorg Schmadtke role confirmed

Liverpool have confirmed Jorg Schmadtke as their new sporting director in place of the departing Julian Ward.

Schmadtke, a veteran of several similar roles in Germany, has been appointed on a short-term deal with the potential for it to become long term.

The length of the initial contract has not been disclosed, but is understood to extend beyond the forthcoming transfer window.

Liverpool were keen to appoint the 59-year-old before the official opening of the window in a few weeks in order to aid the handover from Ward, who will depart after 11 years at the club but only 12 months in his present role after succeeding Michael Edwards.

Schmadtke has assumed the job title of sporting director, despite speculation he would be employed as a transfer consultant.

Liverpool’s recruitment team has already put in significant groundwork on a number of potential summer signings, with the remainder now being overseen by Schmadtke following Ward’s departure.

Read the full story from Ian Doyle, here.

09:32Keifer MacDonald

I don’t want Mason Mount at Liverpool because of one big reason but we can’t ignore Chelsea warning

If anyone favours a move to Man United over Liverpool, then I don’t want them, not a chance. I actually think Mason Mount is a really good player. I think he’s very talented but I don’t know where he’d fit in with our system.

I wanted Jude Bellingham but that’s not going to happen now. We don’t have the funds. It’s a shame.

He was the one everyone wanted but it’s not going to happen because of the way Liverpool work. But look, whoever we get, you trust the manager.

There will be limitations with price-tags and he has to work with the limitations. So we’ve got to wait and see what he can do.

I’m happy with whoever we buy though because he’ll be Jurgen’s man. You trust him, you trust the manager.

Alexis Mac Allister is a good player, absolutely. He’s had a great season and won the World Cup. He’s one of at least two midfielders we have to bring in. Two top quality ones.

We’ll see. They’ve put plans together and know what they want. The way Jurgen Klopp does business and wants to do business, the players that he wants, he’ll try to get them in ASAP.

There are going to be some incomings anyway and if you make too many changes, too soon, you just need to look at what’s happened to Chelsea this season. I think that three are definitely going to come in anyway as it stands.

If they start shipping players out and then bring in five of six, you’re at risk of that.

Read part two of John Aldridge’s ECHO column, here.

(Image: Allstar via Getty Images)

09:03Keifer MacDonald

Adrian set to extend Liverpool stay

With his contract up at the end of the season, the veteran Spaniard is reportedly set to extend his terms on Merseyside ahead of next term.

EXCL: Adrian stays at Liverpool also next season as new deal has been signed and it will be unveiled soon. #LFC

He will be part of Liverpool 23/24 team. pic.twitter.com/puhS6iuVJ7

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 29, 2023

07:56Keifer MacDonald

Transfer latest: Fabio Carvalho bid rejected

Liverpool do not want to lose Fabio Carvalho on a permanent deal this summer as transfer interest intensifies in the youngster.

The Reds have already turned down one offer from an unnamed club, with Carvalho having seen his first-team opportunities restricted during his debut season at Anfield.

Carvalho, who joined from Fulham last summer in a deal worth a potential £7m, has started just one game since Christmas, against Wolves in the FA Cup in early January, and has been restricted to one substitute appearance since the beginning of April.

The ECHO understands Liverpool have been contacted by a number of potential suitors from both home and abroad with Jurgen Klopp admitting on Friday that Carvalho could leave on loan in the summer transfer window.

Read the full story from Paul Gorst and Ian Doyle, here.

Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images (Image: Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)

07:48Keifer MacDonald

Fabinho left out of the latest Brazil squad

The midfielder has been omitted from Brazil’s squad for their upcoming series of international friendlies. interim head coach Ramon Menezes, however, has called on the services of Reds goalkeeper Alisson Becker for forthcoming games against Guinea and Senegal.

The midfielders instead selected of the Reds’ No.3:

Andre – Fluminense

Bruno Guimaraes – Newcastle (ING)

Casemiro – Manchester United (ING)

Joelinton – Newcastle (ING)

Fabinho of Liverpool on the bench for Brazil. (Image: Photo by Richard Sellers/Getty Images)

07:34Keifer MacDonald

Happy Birthday to a Liverpool legend!

The former Reds captain celebrates his 43rd birthday today. What a player!

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 30, 2023

Stephen Killen

Should Liverpool sign Jules Kounde?

Stephen Killen

Jules Kounde on Barcelona ‘unhappiness’ amid Liverpool ‘interest’

While there are reports that he is unhappy, he has already come out to express his intentions to stay at Barcelona.

Jurgen Klopp said in one of his final press conferences of the season that they will be eyeing movement in the transfer window across the pitch – apart from between the sticks.

The German said: “We look in all departments apart from goalkeeper at the moment. Yes, if there is a good one (centre-back) out there, I would not deny it. That’s all. We look at all areas of the pitch, definitely.”

The French defender was subject to interest from Chelsea last summer but Barcelona swooped in to win the race. Stamford Bridge seemed to be the destination for the 24-year-old but he opted to remain in the Spanish top-flight.

He said via Marca: “To make it clear: at no time did I ask to leave, so I’m not going anywhere.”

It has been claimed that he was disappointed about how he was utilised by the Catalonian side after being instructed to play right-back as opposed to his preferred central defensive role.

There have been multiple reports over the Catalan giants’ financial struggles in recent years. With the uncertainty surrounding their predicament financially, it has been reported that they are looking to lower their wage bill.

Jules Koundé celebrates with some of his Barcelona teammates. (Image: Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Stephen Killen

Jules Kounde: Liverpool ‘bid’ for Barcelona defender

Liverpool have made an offer for Barcelona defender Jules Kounde, according to the Daily Mail.

They’re reporting that Jurgen Klopp is ‘eager’ to bring the former Sevilla man to Anfield.

Kounde was part of the Barca side that ended their wait to return to the La Liga summit as he played 38 times following his £46m move to the Nou Camp. There were suggestions he could’ve signed for Chelsea after their pursuit of the Frenchman but he opted to remain in Spain.

The Mail claim that the 24-year-old has claimed to be “disappointed” by his position in the Barcelona squad having been utilised at right-back as opposed to his preferred central defensive role.

Barcelona defender Jules Kounde. (Image: Photo by Sergio Ruiz / Pressinphoto / Icon Sport)

Stephen Killen

Hello and welcome!

Good morning!

The football season is over. Are you as relieved as I am?

What that means is we are now on the verge of crazy season a.k.a the transfer window.

Stick with us as we bring you all the latest gossip on all things Liverpool FC.