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Transfer news: Liverpool want 18-Year-old Frenchman to be Robertson’s understudy

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By Pranav Ravindrannair

Liverpool eye teenage left-back Mathieu Goncalves of Toulouse

According to the Mirror, Liverpool are interested in signing talented 18-year-old left-back Mathieu Goncalves from Toulouse.

Goncalves came through the Toulouse youth academy, having been at the club since 2015. He is regarded highly by their coaching staff and has made 3 appearances in the first-team.

His talent has caught the eye of Liverpool who want to bring him in as an understudy to Andy Robertson. The lack of options has led to Milner deputizing at left-back whenever needed.

Liverpool already have skilled left-backs in their youth ranks namely Adam Lewis and Yasser Larouci.

The addition of Goncalves should hopefully lead to better competition among the players vying to take the next step. This can only augur well for the team as the motivation among the players will remain high.

A defence for the future

By signing Goncalves, Liverpool could be setting up the defence for the future. We already have the likes of 17-year-old right-back Ki-Jana Hoever and 17-year-old centre-back Sepp van Den Berg.

Both these players are held in high esteem by the Liverpool coaching staff and are expected to step up to the first-team in the coming seasons.

Sepp van den Berg
Sepp van den Berg (Getty Images)

Having a core of players rising through the ranks augurs well for the team as the players can transition easily without having to acclimatize to new teammates.

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Juventus also are interested in Goncalves (h/t L’Equipe), who has won 15 caps for the French national youth team at different levels.