Reds ‘closing in’ on centre-back & want relegated winger – Liverpool FC Roundup

August 4, 2020
This Is Anfield

Liverpool have made inroads towards their first two signings of the summer according to Tuesday’s reports, while Jurgen Klopp has a new sponsorship deal.

Betis defender as Lovren replacement?

The rumours linking the Reds to Aissa Mandi aren’t going away – rather the opposite in fact.

Liverpool are reported to have already tabled a £9 million bid for the Real Betis centre-back, who would certainly come in as fourth-choice if the move goes through.

At present, though, the Reds are just shy of a couple of million below what his current club are asking, meaning they want the Reds to shell out pretty much the entirety of the fee Liverpool received for Dejan Lovren.

If he does join Liverpool, the 28-year-old is a potential participant at the Africa Cup of Nations, along with Naby, Mane and Mo.

Sarr in our sights

Liverpool want more than just a centre-back though, if rumours are to be believed.

This one comes from a local outlet, which sometimes offer a little more truth to the matter than the regionals—and the Watford Observer say the Reds are one of three sides to have registered initial interest in winger Ismaila Sarr.

If you have trouble remembering who that is, it’s probably because you’ve attempted to block the day out of your memory—it was Sarr who terrorised the Reds’ defence to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Klopp’s team earlier in 2020.

Crystal Palace and Wolves are the other teams in the hunt for Sarr, but neither will make a move unless they sell Wilf Zaha and Adama Traore respectively.

Liverpool, it seems, merely want to add him to the current group – but there’s no bid yet.

Managers and makers

Jurgen Klopp is one of a kind, or two of a kind when it comes to Premier League managers with a kit deal.

The boss has inked a contract with Adidas, despite the Reds starting a new era with Nike
Nike themselves have released a brilliant video to celebrate local roots and discuss the real pronounciation battle
And Klopp is the ‘favourite’ of Robert Lewandowski, ahead of current rival Pep Guardiola

Quickfire LFC news

A Brazil coach explains how a Firmino performance left him ‘in love’ (TIA)

John Barnes doesn’t feel Thiago will be first-choice if he moves to Liverpool (ES)

Fabinho speaks on consistency, the fans and his hopes for the future (LFC)

And our former midfielder Adam Lallana explains the similarities between this club and what Brighton are trying to do (BHAFC)

Around the Prem

Newcastle are so desperate for their club to not be owned by Mike Ashley, 70,000 have signed a petition for an investigation into the Premier League‘s handling of the takeover – he’s officially a worse human than murderous dictators in their eyes (BBC)

Willian is ready to sign a three-year deal with Arsenal and we can’t wait until he realises the difference between playing with Kante and Kovacic behind him, and Xhaka and, erm, nobody apparently (Guardian)

United will wait until late in the window before deciding on Jack Grealish, because nothing says “we need you, we want you” like spending three months seeing if there’s anything better out there (Mail)

And Chelsea want Real Madrid left-back Sergio Reguilon, which will be a third and far-from-final key target Everton miss out on this summer (Sky Sports)

Stupid announcement of the day

Yes, next season is officially set to start in farcical circumstances.

We already knew the Reds would be playing the Community Shield, then losing players to international duty, until two days before the 20/21 campaign begins. That’s dumb enough.

But now the Premier League sides who are still in Europe until the latter rounds this season will delay their 20/21 start date. And there’s no confirmation yet on when that will start. Or if those clubs with a delayed start will still have to send their players on international duty.

What fun!

Tweet of the day

Not Liverpool-related right now, but it could be: the rulings around travel restrictions, coronavirus and European ties for next season.

Now this is a big one.

If, after the deadline to provide info for the draw at UEFA, a country places restrictions which make the tie impossible, it is forfeited.

So, Tottenham drawn at home to team from Romania. UK then bans travel from Romania. Spurs would forfeit the tie.

— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) August 4, 2020