Liverpool has got some important contract situations to sort out before January arrives but sporting director Richard Hughes will no doubt be casting his eye around to spot any potential transfer additions too.
Indeed, the two could be linked should a decision be made to part ways with one of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk or Trent Alexander-Arnold at the end of the campaign. Ideally, though, that won’t be necessary; signing a replacement for any of the trio would be almost impossible.
Here is the Liverpool.com verdict on the transfer gossip to emerge around the Reds today. We start with a look at two Atalanta players who were supposedly watched midweek in Europe.
Ederson and Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
Liverpool sent scouts to watch Atalanta duo Ederson and Ademola Lookman in the Champions League this midweek, according to TBR Football. It reports that the two players were watched during the match against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Tottenham, Manchester City and Newcastle United were also watching the game, according to the report. Liverpool has been linked with both players before but nothing has ever come of it.
Having missed out on Martin Zubimendi during the summer, Liverpool could perhaps look to sign an alternative. Ederson was played down as a target, though, during the previous window.
Liverpool.com says: If Liverpool wanted Ederson, he has been attainable for long enough. Suddenly getting him in January or next summer would seem strange. Lookman, meanwhile, is about to turn 27. He is unlikely to be an option under proper consideration for that reason.
Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton)
After a report in the Daily Mail earlier in the week that Liverpool could move for Jarrad Branthwaite in January, GiveMeSport has claimed that the center-back has a price tag of $92m (£70m/€83m). The 22-year-old was a target for Manchester United in the summer but Matthijs de Ligt (from Bayern Munich) and Leny Yoro (from Lille) ended up at Old Trafford instead.
“I think I said in the summer that any player, it’s a worldwide market now, it’s not just about one player,” Everton boss Sean Dyche said in his latest press conference. “The way the game changed, certainly in Europe, the transfer situation has opened up. It’s not a surprise good players are linked with other clubs. I said in the summer he’ll be staying here and he is so that’s good.”
Liverpool.com says: Branthwaite is a top defender in the making but signing him from Everton would be nearly impossible, at least without paying well over the odds. He would almost certainly have to go somewhere else first before Anfield, if it is going to happen at all.
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