Klopp beaming as new midfield target rejects two Euro giants to join Liverpool

Liverpool are in ‘close contact’ with a holding midfielder who has already snubbed the chance to join AC Milan and Lazio this summer, according to a report.

The Reds have already signed three midfielders this window, though from a numbers perspective, Jurgen Klopp is way down.

Indeed, established stars Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho have all left for good. Furthermore, rising star Leighton Clarkson joined Aberdeen, while Fabio Carvalho left for RB Leipzig on loan. Arthur Melo’s loan deal also expired, with Liverpool opting against taking up their option to buy.

As such, Liverpool are determined to land one more midfielder and have cash to splash if their unsuccessful £110m bid for Moises Caicedo was anything to go by.

Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch remains on Klopp’s agenda, as does Andre of Fluminense.

However, according to a fresh report from FootballTransfers, a completely new name in the form of Mats Wieffer could be the man to complete Liverpool’s midfield rebuild.

The 23-year-old Netherlands international is a defensive midfielder and plies his trade at club level for Feyenoord.

Wieffer established himself as a guaranteed starter in the second half of the previous campaign and earned his first three Dutch caps on the back of his superb form in the Eredivisie.

Per FootballTransfers, Liverpool are in ‘close contact’ with Wieffer and his camp. In even more encouraging news, quotes from Wieffer are carried in which the midfielder hinted he’d spurn interest from Serie A giants Lazio and AC Milan.

“It is nice to hear that such clubs are interested,” Wieffer previously told RTV Rijnmond. “But I have the feeling that I want to stay at Feyenoord for one more year anyway. That’s the best for myself. We’ll see what happens.”

Of course, the second part of Wieffer’s response also applies to Liverpool and the Reds must now convince the Dutchman to ditch Feyenoord in the final week of the window.

The report gives little else away regarding any progress Liverpool have made on that front, or indeed if club-to-club talks between Liverpool and Feyenoord have begun.

In any case, it’s stressed talks with the player are underway and Liverpool appear to be acting on their interest in the Dutchman.

No potential transfer fee is cited in the piece. However, online outlet Transfermarkt list Wieffer’s likely valuation around the €15m (approx. £12.9m mark).

As such, Wieffer could be viewed as a similar signing to Wataru Endo who cost £16m when joining from Stuttgart.

Liverpool owners FSG have generally only spent big on players the club’s chiefs deemed sure things.

With Jude Bellingham, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia all eluding the Reds this summer, a move for the more modestly-priced Wieffer could take shape ahead of a costlier and higher profile signing in a future window.

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Mohamed Salah transfer saga has only just begun as truth emerges for Liverpool

Ian Doyle gives his take as Mohamed Salah transfer links over move from Liverpool to Saudi Arabia intensify

So continues the great Saudi Pro League fishing expedition.

Throughout this week, stories have emerged out of Saudi Arabia linking Al-Ittihad with a move for Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah, each slightly different to the next as if attempting to edge the Egyptian that bit nearer to an Anfield exit.

Of course, none of this is anything new. The Saudi Pro League champions were first claimed to have an interest earlier this month, which prompted Salah’s representative Ramy Abbas Issa to reaffirm the player’s commitment to Liverpool.

But the pressure from the Middle East has been increasing daily. On Thursday there was a claim on social media from one self-proclaimed transfer news account that Salah has decided he wants to leave Liverpool, which prompted former Reds defender and close friend of the Egyptian, Dejan Lovren, to reply with a message stating “stop lying”.

The ECHO understands that while the interest from Saudi Arabia is genuine, Liverpool have not yet received any official word from Al-Ittihad or any other club regards Salah.

In any case, with barely a week to go until the transfer window closes for the Reds, any offer for Salah will almost certainly have come too late, Liverpool having nowhere near enough time to identify and recruit a new right winger. If finding a defensive midfielder has proven troublesome, how difficult would it be to replace Salah in seven days?

Given the Egyptian will be occupied with the African Cup of Nations during the New Year, a move in January appears just as unlikely.

But Salah won’t be at Liverpool forever. The winger will be 32 next summer, and it may well he decides to follow former team-mates Fabinho – who is already at Al-Ittihad – and Jordan Henderson for one final major pay day. And with the player also then entering the final year of his contract, Fenway Sports Group and Jurgen Klopp may accept it makes financial sense to cash in on their prized asset.

With Salah having last year negotiated a three-year deal that made him Liverpool’s highest-ever paid player, it’s not as if he isn’t being handsomely rewarded for his endeavours at present. However, the eye-watering amounts on offer from Saudi Arabia would blow such wages out of the water – and by some distance. One report has claimed Al-Ittihad want to make Salah the highest-paid player of all time.

And don’t expect them to give up. Not at all. The Saudi Pro League transfer deadline isn’t until six days after the Premier League window shuts, with top-flight clubs fearful of being exposed to late big-money offers. However, Salah himself might find it somewhat curious Al-Ittihad value him at only £60m, as was reported earlier this month.

For all this, it hasn’t passed unnoticed that Al-Ittihad are one of four Saudi Pro League clubs to this summer be taken over by the country’s Public Investment Fund, who are also majority owners at Newcastle United.

Newcastle’s next opponents at the weekend? Liverpool and Salah. Real Madrid, authors of the pre-match disruption playbook, might well be nodding in appreciation.

Strap yourself in, folks. This is a transfer saga that’s only just getting started.