Liverpool may just have received a significant boost to their chances of signing a defender who’s reportedly of interest to Anfield chiefs.
It’s been a case of one in and one out in terms of French centre-backs in L4 this summer, with Ibrahima Konate leaving at the end of his contract with the Reds and being replaced by young compatriot Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes.
Another defender from France could viably become a transfer option for the Merseyside outfit in the next few weeks, according to a report which emerged on Thursday morning.
Mark Brus outlined for the Daily Briefing that Liverpool are ‘keeping an eye on developments’ regarding the situation of Jules Kounde at Barcelona, who are ‘surprisingly’ open to sanctioning his exit from Camp Nou this summer.
The 27-year-old is deemed ‘expendable’ in Catalonia and his current club ‘have been sounding out previous suitors such as Chelsea and Liverpool as possible buyers’, with the defender being made available on the market for £55m.
That marks a reduction on the £65m-£70m at which Barca had previously set his asking price, and it’s now clear’ that the LaLiga champions are open to selling the France international, who’s now expected to ‘invite more concrete interest’.
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Kounde had reportedly been of interest to Liverpool more than five years ago when he was a Sevilla player – could this now be the Reds’ perfect opportunity to move for the Frenchman?
Similar to Joe Gomez, the Barcelona man is equally comfortable at centre-back or right-back, a versatility which is most welcome considering the defensive injury issues we’ve had in the past 12 months, especially in the latter position.
Indeed, FourFourTwo ranked him as the second best right-back in the world in an article written last December, observing that he’s ‘blessed with pace and strength’ and combines ‘work rate and technical ability in both attack and defence’.
Liverpool have tended to shop for players under the age of 25 in recent years, and Kounde doesn’t slot into that demographic, but FSG would be foolish to dismiss the opportunity to sign a player at the peak of his powers when his current club appear to be openly inviting offers for him.
With Barcelona seemingly giving the green light to a potential exit for the Frenchman, it’s a situation that Anfield chiefs ought to be watching with keen interest and preparing to swoop if there’s an opening for a deal to be done.
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