Liverpool are reportedly ‘very keen’ on signing Tottenham Hotspur star Micky Van de Ven, as per Football Insider.
The Reds currently have Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah as the centre-back options. However, Gomez was heavily linked with a move away from the club last summer and has been struggling with injury problems this season.
Quansah, on the other hand, has found it difficult to play regularly under Arne Slot and has been playing in the domestic cup competitions mainly.
Moreover, Van Dijk’s future remains unresolved as he hasn’t extended his contract with the Merseyside club yet, even though his existing deal will expire at the end of this season.
Now, Football Insider claim that Liverpool want to hire a new centre-back next summer regardless of whether Van Dijk signs an extension with the Anfield club.
Liverpool are ‘very keen’ on purchasing Van de Ven having been impressed by his performances for the Lilywhites in recent times and Slot rates his compatriot ‘hugely’.
Van de Ven to Liverpool
Van de Ven’s blistering pace is the highlight of his game and Liverpool believe that the 23-year-old is an ‘elite Champions League level’ player.
However, purchasing him won’t be easy as Spurs don’t like selling their key stars and negotiating with Daniel Levy is a daunting task. Having joined the North London club ahead of last season, Van de Ven still has more than four and a half years left in his current contract.
He is valued at around £46m by Transfermarkt so Tottenham will demand a huge fee to sell him next summer. However, the defender has struggled with hamstring issues persistently in recent months so Liverpool will have to be careful about that before making a move for him.
The report say Liverpool want to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi as a potential long-term replacement for Van Dijk. He will enter the final year of his current contract next summer so he should be available for a cut-price deal.
But, Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested in him. Therefore, Slot’s side will have to overcome stiff competition to get the deal done.
