Liverpool reportedly have a ‘concrete plan’ to sign Borussia Dortmund left-back Daniel Svensson this summer.
CaughtOffside sources now report that the Merseysiders are interested in the Sweden international, though could face competition from Arsenal.
The Gunners, if recent reporting is to be believed, are also ready to provide competition on the Yan Diomande front after falling short in their pursuit of Morgan Rogers.
It’s not the first time that Liverpool’s alleged interest in the Bundesliga star has come to light.
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Back in early May, it was claimed that the Reds were monitoring the £34.6m-valued Svensson ahead of the summer transfer window.
And we can see why the Swede might have piqued our interest when seeing how highly BVB boss Niko Kovac rates his positionally versatile operator.
“He’s a Duracell bunny. He reminds me a bit of Joshua Kimmich,” the former Bayern head coach was quoted by Bundesliga.com. “He also plays every game and runs 12 or 13 kilometres. It’s the same distance in a different position, but it shows how tireless these guys are and how they march on without end.”
A “Duracell bunny”? Now, doesn’t that inspire memories of a raw Andy Robertson pounding the earth down the left flank in the early Jurgen Klopp years?
Of course, even assuming we’re keen to get this one over the line, the 24-year-old will have some top competition for the left-back spot in Andoni Iraola’s former protege at Bournemouth, Milos Kerkez.
And that’s without considering the likely impact on a returned squad option in Kostas Tsimikas.
It’s worth emphasising that Daniel Svensson is a pretty versatile option on the left flank, being able to file out at left-back, left wing-back, and left midfield.
However, we strongly suspect that signing the Bundesliga star would surely spell the end of our Greek international’s nearly-six-year spell on Merseyside.
At 24 years of age, of course, we get the impression that his Dortmund counterpart simply has more to offer as competition to Kerkez.
So, ultimately, it comes down to price, and whether Liverpool are prepared to fork out as much as €50m [£42.5m] (the figure reportedly floated).
It’s an awful lot of money for a backup left-back. Especially at a time when we need every penny we can spare to get a deal for Bradley Barcola over the line.
With that in mind, we think Tsimikas’s spot in the squad is probably safe for now.
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We need a more potent left sided player than Gakpo. Keep Kostas as a reasonable and experienced back up with Svensson as a left sided misdfielder.
kostas does not play enough, so do not feel him to be the right player. Another left back with experience.
Sick of hearing about Barcola – move on already
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