Liverpool have reportedly stepped up their pursuit of a transfer target who’s already based in the Premier League.
According to CaughtOffside sources, the Reds have met with Wolves to gather information about Rayan Ait-Nouri and discuss the conditions they’ll need to satisfy in order to secure a deal for the left-back.
The Midlands club value the 23-year-old at €45m (£37.9m) and won’t let him leave for anything less, and the Algerian is believed to be open to departing Molineux if he receives an acceptable proposal in terms of the length of contract and the wages on offer.
Representatives from Chelsea and Manchester City have also reportedly enquired about the Old Gold defender, who’s been hailed by his manager Gary O’Neil for his ‘unbelievable‘ performances.
If Liverpool are to sign Ait-Nouri for a price which’d persuade Wolves to sell, he’s hardly going to be content with a backup role at Anfield. The challenge he’d then face is to nudge Andy Robertson out of the team, with the Scotland captain a fixture in the starting XI for several years.
Whatever about the threat it might pose to the 30-year-old, it’d leave Kostas Tsimikas with an almighty battle for first-team minutes on Merseyside if Arne Slot were to have three senior left-backs at his disposal.
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The Algerian would certainly offer the Reds a formidable threat from the left flank if he were to start regularly. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 2% of positonal peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for successful take-ons per game (2.4).
Whether or not Liverpool take their interest to the next level and submit a formal bid for Ait-Nouri remains to be seen, and it could be contingent on one of their current options leaving.
If either Robertson or Tsimiaks were to go, a left-back replacement would definitely be needed. As it stands, the 23-year-old can be considered a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘must-have’.
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