One among Germany’s foremost soccer journalists has mentioned that Liverpool have ‘actual and large’ intentions to signal Manu Kone this summer season.
Following the failed pursuit of Jude Bellingham, the Reds have now turned their consideration in the direction of one other Bundesliga midfielder within the Borussia Monchengladbach dynamo.
Christian Falk was talking to CaughtOffside when he defined that the 22-year-old has already had contact from Merseyside, along with his membership hoping to reap €40m-€45m (£34.5m-£38.8m) from his sale this summer season.
The journalist outlined: “Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool see Manu Koné as a alternative for Jude Bellingham, who’s going to Actual Madrid as an alternative of England.
“Liverpool have already contacted Koné’s administration and expressed curiosity. The intentions of the Reds are ‘actual and large,’ so say the individuals surrounding the Frenchman.
“A attainable price for the defensive midfielder needs to be between €40-45m, that’s what Gladbach hope. Earlier than Liverpool had been , €30m was nonetheless below dialogue. Koné’s contract with Borussia runs till June 30, 2025.”
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Liverpool’s pursuit of Kone took an intriguing twist on Friday with the information that Jorg Schmadtke’s son Nils is about to change into the brand new sporting director at Monchengladbach (Kicker), coming simply days after the previous took on an analogous position at Anfield.
That apparent connection might probably assist to clean a course for the French midfielder to swap Germany for England, and Falk’s replace additional underlines the firmness of the Reds’ intentions to land the 22-year-old.
A price within the £35m-£40m bracket doesn’t appear extreme for a participant of that age who’s already been an everyday within the Bundesliga for 2 seasons and who, as proven by one notably elegant show towards Bellingham’s Dortmund, can excel in a serious European league.
He’s stood out as among the finest dribblers on the continent over the previous 12 months, along with his price of 1.97 profitable take-ons per match inserting him among the many high 4% of positional friends for that metric in Europe’s 5 most important leagues (FBref).
The style by which the Bellingham pursuit fell away is disappointing, in fact, however signing Kone could be the absolute best riposte.
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