Liverpool are ‘ready to rival’ Chelsea for the signing of Lyon star Malick Fofana, whose “choice of heart” has been revealed by his agent.
The Reds have already secured the £29.5m signing of Jeremie Frimpong and are expected to announce the £116m addition of Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz this week to break the British-record transfer, while Milos Kerkez is also set to join from Bournemouth for around £45m.
Sporting director Richard Hughes is now thought to be preparing another record-breaking bid to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle with Darwin Nunez set to leave the club amid interest from Napoli.
But the Reds are also thought of as be keen on adding another forward to the squad amid doubts over the futures of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, while Federico Chiesa looks set to leave after a miserable season at Anfield.
They’ve been linked with Anthony Gordon among others, but Mirror claim Liverpool chiefs have also ‘made contact with Fofana’s representatives Roc Nation’.
L’Equipe claim Chelsea are ahead of their Premier League rivals in the ‘race’ for the 20-year-old, who got 11 goals and six assists across all competitions last term, as the Blues have ‘called Lyon’s management to make first contact’, with Nottingham Forest also credited with interest in the one-cap Belgium international.
It’s thought Lyon would be open to his sale as they trim their squad after failing to qualify for the Champions League and have slapped a £43m asking price on Fofana following Rayan Cherki’s £34m move to Manchester City.
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Earlier in the year, Fofana’s then agent Bobo Fofana hinted a move to Anfield might well be his preference were he to leave Lyon.
Speaking to Africafoot in March, Fofana’s agent, Bobo Fofana, said: “The choice of heart would be Liverpool. He has the potential to enter the rotation, and above all, we would like to see him succeed African legends such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and El Hadj Diouf.
“Now, the choice of reason would be Newcastle, a well-structured club that could be a first step to gain experience before, perhaps, joining a club in the European top 5.”
Fofana is among eight players on Chelsea’s shortlist as they look to sign a new left winger and a ‘versatile forward’ to ease the creative burden on Cole Palmer, with a fire lit under the Blues to source a winger on the back of the FA charging Mykhaylo Mudryk over the Ukraine international’s doping offences, with a four-year ban in the offing.
