Liverpool ‘focus’ on €70m pair over Bayern Munich star against Klopp ‘wishes’, Romano reveals
Liverpool retain an interest in Bayern Munich star Ryan Granvenberch but have two other midfield priorities as things stand, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Reds have been heavily linked with Gravenberch in recent months, despite the Dutchman only moving to Bayern from Ajax last summer.
The 21-year-old was restricted to just three Bundesliga starts and has insisted that “has to change next season” whether with the German giants or elsewhere.
A report on Wednesday claimed Liverpool are ‘about to close’ on Gravenberch for a fee in the region of €25m.
It was claimed Liverpool are ‘ready to back Jurgen Klopp’s wishes regarding the signing’ and ‘talks are ongoing’, with Gravenberch viewed as a ‘valuable addition’ who is ‘open’ to a move to Anfield this summer.
But transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool’s ‘focus’ is on Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone.
“Elsewhere, Ryan Gravenberch was asked about interest from Premier League clubs and he certainly sounded open to the idea of moving because he wants to play more,” Romano told Caughtoffside.
“Liverpool appreciate Gravenberch, for sure. But for now their focus remains on Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone. For Gravenberch, Bayern’s position is crucial as they don’t want to sell him, but conversations between the player, club and manager Thomas Tuchel will take place soon to clarify the situation.”
Romano’s claim is backed up by journality Neil Jones, who claims Nice star Thuram is ‘most likely’ to be Liverpool’s next signing as he is preferred over Borussia Monchengladbach’s Manu Kone.
He said: “Obviously Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone have been mentioned. From my understanding, Thuram is the likeliest out of those – the profile of him, his physique, his age, the club he’s playing at, the kind of money that would be involved – I think he perfectly fits the bill.
“It remains to be seen how willing Nice are to let him go, and I think the fact that there looks like a number of midfield players likely to move soon in this market means that Nice might just be waiting to see the how the dominos fall, and what kind of price they can get for him.
“Still, I think Liverpool and Thuram, even if it hasn’t moved much in the last seven days and a fee hasn’t yet been agreed, he’s definitely been identified as someone Liverpool want.”
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