PL rivals lead the race for UCL winner on Liverpool’s radar

Newcastle United are leading the race to sign Liverpool target, Marco Asensio

Real Madrid star Marco Asensio has been mentioned as a transfer target for Liverpool and the Reds now face competition from Premier League rivals Newcastle United for his signature.

According to Liverpool Echo, Newcastle and AC Milan are currently the favourites to land the services of the 26-year-old after he was a transfer target for Liverpool throughout the transfer window.

In 235 games for Ancelotti’s team, Asensio scored 49 goals and provided 24 assists. During that time, he has won both, the Champions League and La Liga titles thrice.

If Newcastle manager Eddie Howe were to sign the attacker, he would undoubtedly be a quality signing for the Magpies. It would also be a statement of sorts for a side looking to challenge in the near future.

Newcastle has so far wrapped up three important deals worth £50m for Sven Botman, Matt Targett and Nick Pope all signing for the Saudi-owned club. Their new owners would want to witness some significant improvements in the squad that would help them progress.

The Magpies are short of options in attack and have already suffered a setback in their pursuit of Reims striker Hugo Ekitike. However, if we would consider the sporting project and the likelihood of winning trophies, Asensio is better off moving to Anfield or Milan.

But Liverpool already have a lot of depth in the forward positions and aren’t overenthusiastic in signing the Spaniard. Club sources at Anfield have even gone as far as to reject claims that the Reds are interested in the 26-year-old.

However, Liverpool would need to improve on one notable area and that is their engine room. The midfield zone needs depth even after the Reds have a powerful bunch of players in their starting XI.

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Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and Thiago Alcantara make up Liverpool’s bulk of midfield, but the team’s performance would be affected would the players suffer any unfortunate injury. As a result, a move for a new midfielder, probably Sporting’s Matheus Nunes, would seem more logical as the young star would offer fresh legs to the current bunch of senior players at Anfield.

It remains to be seen whether Newcastle United would make the best out of Liverpool’s silence in this deal.