Liverpool ‘back’ with second bid of £77m for La Liga star as Klopp refuses to ‘give up’
Joe Williams 1 hour ago
Liverpool transfer target Federico Valverde
Federico Valverde could be leaving the Bernabeu this summer.
Liverpool have made a second offer for Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde after having a £69m bid turned down, according to reports in Spain.
The Reds are looking to bring in one more midfielder this summer after sealing a bargain £35m deal for Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and a transfer for Hungary international Dominik Szoboszlai.
Jutgen Klopp’s midfield were blamed for a number of their issues last season as Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League or win a major trophy.
And a number of players have been linked with Nice’s Khephren Thuram and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia understood to be near the top of their list.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano brought an update on their attempts to sign the duo after securing deals for Szoboszlai and Mac Allister.
Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Liverpool are now in the race for Lavia, they are working on the deal and are having direct contacts on both the player and club side. The original plan this summer was always to sign three new midfielders after Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner left.
Let’s see how much they can invest on the final one after already bringing in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Lavia is on their list for sure, and Khephren Thuram remains on the list too.
“Now after Szoboszlai they will take their time to decide on the midfielder situation. They could also strengthen in defence at some point this summer, keep an eye on that because that’s also something they want to do.”
But Spanish publication Nacional are still insisting that Real Madrid midfielder Valverde is on Klopp’s wishlist with Liverpool having an €80m (£69m) opening offer rejected.
They say the German is refusing to ‘give up’ on the Uruguay international and Liverpool are now ‘back’ with an offer of €90m (£77m) for the midfielder.
Valverde has been pushed down the pecking order at the Bernabeu with the arrivals of Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz, and Liverpool ‘want to take advantage’.
Nacional describe Valverde as the ‘icing on the cake’ for the Reds this summer and Klopp ‘believes that he would fit perfectly into Liverpool’s style of play’.
£77m already sounds like a lot of money for Liverpool, especially after only recently buying Mac Allister and Szoboszlai – but the report insists that they would have ‘no problem offering even more money’ if Real Madrid turn down their latest bid.
There have been rumours that former Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara could leave Anfield this summer but former Goal and Liverpool Echo journalist Neil Jones says there are currently no offers for the Spaniard.
