After announcing the blockbuster deal for Naby Keita, Liverpool are surging ahead with intent in the transfer market. With just a day left, the Reds are now targeting AS Monaco winger Thomas Lemar. With the deadline fast approaching, Liverpool are leaving no stone unturned, to make sure the deal is closed.
Spanish media reports from Marca (h/t The Express) claim that the Reds are sending their medical team to Monaco so that they can carry out tests and finalise the deal for the 21-year-old at the principality.
Liverpool are reported to have offered £74.4 million plus Divock Origi for Lemar and are confident that they would land their star player within the deadline. If the Reds are successful in signing Lemar, it would mark another club-record after having agreed to a £48million deal for Keita.
Monaco have seen their star team disintegrate this summer with several of their top players leaving the club already. They have lost Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva to Manchester City while Tiemoue Bakayoko joined Chelsea.
With Kylian Mbappe set to join rivals Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco were thought to be reluctant to let Lemar join Liverpool. In fact, it was Arsenal that did all the initial running through the summer but were rebuffed by the French Champions.
There was interest from Manchester United too but Liverpool trumped competition by tabling a massive ‘player plus cash’ deal making Monaco recede their reluctance.
The French Club have prepared for the imminent departures of Lemar and Mbappe by signing Stevan Jovetic and Keita Balde Diao over the past 24 hours (BBC Sport). Balde is an exciting winger and is expected to be a like-for-like replacement for Lemar.
Jurgen Klopp’s side already boasts of blistering pace in the final third with Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke and Roberto Firmino giving an ominous look to the side. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also close to completing a move to the Anfield.
Add Lemar to the squad and Klopp will have an exciting unit at his disposal that would be a handful to any defence. With Naby Keita joining us next summer, it looks like Liverpool are on their way to being Premier League title challengers.
What do you think of Thomas Lemar’s imminent arrival?
