Liverpool looks as though it may be trying to steal an early march on some of its rivals as the summer transfer window approaches – although Manchester City may have plans of its own up its sleeve.
The Reds are of course set to bid farewell to Trent Alexander-Arnold after the right-back confirmed his decision to leave the club this summer. A move to Real Madrid looks to just be a matter of time now, and Liverpool could still receive a fee with the Spanish giant looking to secure his services early for the Club World Cup.
Arne Slot and Richard Hughes don’t look to be wasting any time in finding a replacement though, with Jeremie Frimpong looking as though he could be on his way to Anfield. Reports in Germany have suggested the right-back could be on the verge of joining Liverpool, although a Bayer Leverkusen director has suggested he may not be as close as has been claimed.
Nevertheless, it could be the start of a busy summer for Liverpool as it prepares for next season’s defense of the Premier League title, with the Reds no doubt aware its rivals will also be eyeing up some big deals.
Arsenal already looks to be well on the way to securing Martin Zubimendi, who of course turned down a move to Liverpool last year. City, meanwhile, looks as though it may have identified its first big target of the summer.
According to The Athletic, City has contacted AC Milan to express an interest in Tijjani Reijnders. Talks are said to be at an early stage, with a formal offer yet to be made for the $76 million-rated midfielder.
(Image: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
City though is hopeful an agreement can be reached when the conversation resumes after Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final, with Milan facing Bologna.
Reijnders may be a familiar name to Liverpool fans. He has been previously linked with a move to Anfield, and he came face-to-face with the Reds in the opening game of this season’s Champions League back in September.
In fact, before the game, Slot namechecked the midfielder as one of the players Liverpool would have to be wary of.
“I don’t know if the translation is correct but the word ‘scared’ was used, if I was scared for some players, or for us in Milan,” Slot began.
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“I don’t think any manager or any team is scared to play the other team but we have a lot of respect for the quality and the players and the history of Milan. The first one that comes to my mind is a Dutch player – Tijjani Reijnders – who has done really well over here and also for the Dutch national team last week.
“So, they have quality players. We’re not scared but we do respect all of their players because they have shown last Saturday that they are in good form. They had a very good 4-0 win. So, we respect Milan a lot, but ‘scared’ is not the word we would use.”
Liverpool would go on to win the game at the San Siro 3-1 on its way to topping the league phase. City though won’t be deterred by Milan’s defeat that night, and Slot’s review of Reijnders would suggest Pep Guardiola is getting a player highly-rated by the Reds boss.
