Liverpool boss Arne Slot is looking to add a midfielder or two to his roster and is said to be prioritising a profile who can carry the ball forward from deeper areas of the pitch to link play between the defenders and the final third. And though Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch can do that, they perhaps lack as much physicality and pace as the manager wants.
With that in mind, Football Insider has claimed that Liverpool are ‘keeping tabs’ on Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba. He is having a superb campaign under Fabian Hurzeler on the south coast with the Seagulls’ coach extensively using him as the team’s ball carrier in a box-to-box capacity through the middle of the park.
Baleba is a fabulous all-round profile and just a year and a half into his career at the Amex Stadium, the 21-year-old has been tipped to move to greener pastures. GiveMeSport has reported that he has an extremely high price tag of £115 million with Manchester City also keeping tabs on him should the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mateo Kovacic depart the Sky Blues.
Liverpool will baulk at £115m price tag
Liverpool’s interest in a midfielder is no secret but with the way Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch have performed, there is no reason to spend £115 million on another player in the position. Curtis Jones as well as Dominik Szoboszlai are also at Arne Slot’s disposal, whereas Martin Zubimendi, the club’s long-time target will cost less than half of Carlos Baleba too.
Moreover, it must also be noted that the Reds need to spend on rebuilding their defence. A central defender’s signing is already on the cards and if Trent Alexander-Arnold leaves as a free agent, the board will be obliged to land a right-back too. Likewise, an attacker is also expected to arrive with Darwin Nunez as well as Luis Diaz possibly exit-bound and Mohamed Salah probably following suit too.
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It’s not to say that Liverpool will be unable to spend in excess of £100 million one player but with several areas of the squad likely to be rebuilt, Slot will have to decide his priorities accordingly. At the moment, it is only foreseeable for the Reds to spend big money on a forward given their admiration towards Alexander Isak.
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