Liverpool have held negotiations with Crystal Palace over a possible move for midfielder Cheick Doucoure as Jurgen Klopp looks to strengthen his midfield, according to the Daily Mail.
The Reds have already brought in three midfielders following the arrivals of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, and Wataru Endo but Klopp wants to bring in another option.
Liverpool have lost five senior midfielders this summer including former skipper Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabinho so they are short of numbers.
Several midfielders have been linked with a move to Anfield but Doucoure has emerged as a serious transfer target in bid to solve their defensive midfielder issue despite signing Endo from Stuttgart last Friday.
Endo has enormous experience in the Bundesliga as he helped Stuttgart escape relegation last season but the Japan international is a short-term solution at Anfield.
He made his Liverpool debut in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth last Saturday, coming off the bench in the second half after Mac Allister was shown a straight red having clipped Ryan Christie’s foot.
Midfield reinforcement
Though Liverpool will appeal against the South American’s red card, Klopp is already thinking of adding another midfielder to his squad before the window closes.
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool have held talks with Palace over a possible deal for Doucoure. They’ve stepped up their interest in the 23-year-old after missing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea.
Doucoure has impressed at Selhurst Park since joining from Lens in a £22m deal last summer so they won’t let him go on the cheap. It’s reported that the Eagles will demand £70m to let the highly-rated midfielder leave this summer.
The Mail midfielder racked up 35 appearances across all competitions for Palace last season as they finished above Chelsea in the Premier League table.
Doucoure would be an excellent signing for Liverpool if they could get a deal agreed but it remains to be seen whether they can convince Palace to cash-in before the window closes on September 1st.
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