Liverpool trail PL rivals in pursuit of 21-year-old prolific goalscorer

Transfer News: Liverpool trailing Tottenham in Dusan Vlahovic race

According to transfer news from Calciomercato (h/t Daily Star), Liverpool may have fallen behind Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign Dusan Vlahovic.

The 21-year-old Serbian striker has been with Serie A side Fiorentina since 2018, having signed from Partizan Belgrade in his homeland. Having settled into the club nicely, Vlahovic exploded into top form in the 2020/21 campaign, banging in 21 goals and setting up two more his teammates in 37 Serie A encounters. (h/t Transfermarkt

Vlahovic’s explosive form had put him on the radars of several top clubs, including Liverpool. The Reds can certainly use a striker of his ilk considering that Roberto Firmino had another underwhelming campaign in front of goal last time out.

Moreover, with Divock Origi out of favour, Jurgen Klopp does not have any senior natural centre-forwards at his disposal to provide cover and competition for Firmino. Vlahovic, to that end, would have made for a good signing for the Merseysiders.

However, it seems like Liverpool have been left trailing behind in the race for the 21-year-old by Premier League rivals Tottenham.

The north Londoners recently appointed Fabio Paratici as their Managing Director of Football. The 48-year-old is now using his contacts in Italy to try and engineer a move for Vlahovic. It is being claimed that Paratici has already contacted Fiorentina over a move for the 21-year-old Serbian marksman.

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With Tottenham now edging past Liverpool in the race for Vlahovic, the club will have to look for alternative targets. Donyell Malen has been mentioned as an option for Tottenham (h/t Liverpool Echo), with talks being opened with the Dutch forward.

Having made an early signing in the form of Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool will be aiming to wrap up their transfer business well ahead of the season.