In the last days of the transfer season, Liverpool are reportedly planning to increase their pursuit of Rennes defender Arthur Theate. To facilitate a deal, Liverpool may be willing to split ways with a long-time valued Jurgen Klopp ally
The Merseysiders’ only attention this summer has been on acquiring midfielders. Liverpool’s need has been well-documented, especially with six senior players leaving the engine room since the end of the previous season. While James Milner, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s departures were widely anticipated, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson’s departures were more of a surprise.
In order to achieve this, Liverpool has spent the past two weeks concentrating on fresh hires. Early this summer, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister completed their contracts, and Japan star Waturu Endo also signed with Stuttgart. While there are still days in the window, Klopp wants to add another set of legs to his pool amidst the abundance of links.
The Dutchman is not, however, the only choice; on Tuesday night, rumors claimed the Reds were planning to outbid both Nottam Forest inghand Bayern Munich for Wilfried Ndidi.
It is simple to forget that at the beginning of the summer transfer window, Klopp was also looking to bolster his central defense because there has been so much attention on new midfielders.
Josko Gvardiol’s appeal to Liverpool swiftly faded as Manchester City entered the picture. However, since that time, there have not been many connections to defenders.
One link, though, does acknowledge the mention of Rennes defender Theate from earlier this month.
Liverpool is prepared to give up Joel Matip to acquire Theate.
Due to a string of standout performances for Rennes, the 23-year-old has become one of the top center halves in Ligue 1.
He has eight Belgium caps as a result of his performance and his continued inclusion in Domenico Tedesco’s plans.
According to recent French sources, Liverpool is getting ready for an exciting last-minute window raid to lure Theate to Anfield.
He is a left-sided center-half for Liverpool, who intend to pair him up with the versatile Virgil van Dijk and switch the Dutchman to the right side of the defense when Ibrahima Konate is not available.
According to L’Equipe, Rennes values Theate at approximately €35 million (£30 million). Fulham was reportedly interested in Theate earlier this summer.
The French tabloid reports Joel Matip of Liverpool has emerged as Rennes’ primary target to replace Theate, which could make life a little simpler for the Reds.
The seasoned center-half joined the Reds in 2016 after joining on a free transfer from Schalke. His seven full seasons at Anfield saw him make 187 appearances; probably, he would have made more if not for a number of bothersome injuries.
With only one year left on his contract, Klopp allegedly is willing to part with the 32-year-old if a good offer comes up.
Furthermore, a swap arrangement with Rennes featuring Theate would be just the thing, with a prospective agreement that would be advantageous to all sides.
According to reports, Liverpool values Matip at roughly £8 million, therefore a financial adjustment would be required if the double deal is to materialize.
Director Florian Maurice of Rennes has praised Theate’s best attributes.
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