Liverpool have reportedly opened talks to sign African starlet Pape Diop, as per the player’s agent Gerald Sagoe.
The 19-year-old – who plays for Belgian side SV Zulte Waregem – doesn’t have much experience in senior football yet. But, the Merseyside club have seemingly registered their interest in the youngster after being impressed by his performances in the U20 World Cup.
Despite his national team, Senegal, failing to come out of the group stage, the midfielder displayed promising performances in that competition, scoring a solitary goal in three appearances.
During an interview with TuttoMercatoWeb, the player’s agent said that Liverpool have contacted him to learn about the details of signing the African ahead of a potential move.
However, Sagoe states that securing the 19-year-old’s signature won’t be straightforward for Liverpool as several other clubs around Europe are also exploring the possibility of signing him.
Diop to Liverpool
Sagoe said:
“Towards the end of last season while he was busy with the national team we were contacted by Liverpool and we had preliminary meetings in Paris.
“Three French teams have expressed interest and some Italian teams, including Napoli, have expressed interest. Together with my lawyer, Alessandro Mazzucato, we will have some appointments in Germany in the coming weeks. Let’s see what happens.”
It has widely been suggested that Liverpool are keen on strengthening their engine room this summer and Jurgen Klopp wants to sign at least three new midfielders.
The Reds have already purchased Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. It has been suggested that they will now focus on signing another option before the start of next season. Several players have been linked with a move to Anfield over the last few weeks with Romeo Lavia being mentioned as a serious target.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq have expressed their interest in signing Jordan Henderson and he has reportedly agreed on personal terms with Steven Gerrard’s side to move to the Middle East.
So, if he leaves the club this summer then Liverpool will have to sign another midfielder over the coming weeks and in that case, Diop could be a very good addition with a view to the long-term future.
It is going to be interesting to see whether Liverpool eventually decide to formalise their interest in signing Diop to strengthen their midfield this summer.
