Liverpool are reportedly in a race with Aston Villa and Juventus for Fiorentina midfielder Cher Ndour.
In the past two summer windows, Liverpool have spent more than £630million on attacking and defensive talent, but their midfield remains an area of concern.
And while Jeremy Jacquet and Bradley Barcola could excel at Anfield, Jamie Carragher felt that the 2025 summer window – where they signed the likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak – could set Andoni Iraola’s side a long time.
He said on Sky Sports last month, “My fear is this window of 12 months ago could set Liverpool back a year or two to fix it. Don’t forget, last season it was not about these players. Because it was all about Arne Slot and his style of playing, and he’s not like Jurgen Klopp, and he’s holding his players back.
“But we’re talking 12 months of under-performance from all of these players except Ekitike. If this doesn’t change in the next two or three months, under Iraola, and these players improve, I think we’re going to be looking at that as arguably the worst transfer window we’ve probably seen in Premier League history.
READ: Liverpool legend urges Iraola to drop Wirtz to help Reds teammate with Szoboszlai ‘rationale’
“When you consider the fees for these players, and what it was going to do for Liverpool… The idea wasn’t for these players coming in just to be good players, it was to create something like a little dynasty for Liverpool.
“Let’s not forget, Liverpool won the league two years ago. These were supposed to do what City have done in the last few years, or Manchester United in the past, where they’ve gone and won two or three leagues in five years.”
Liverpool have been using a midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Wirtz but the balance doesn’t seem quite right.
And even when 2022 World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister is added into the mix, their midfield issues do not go away.
Liverpool face competition for Cher Ndour
Now, Caught Offside report that Liverpool, Villa and Juventus are trying to improve their own midfields by signing Fiorentina’s Ndour.
The 21-year-old has impressed as a physical, box-to-box player, who combines technical skill with physical strength.
The Italy international signed for Fiorentina just over 18 months ago for just €5m, although Paris Saint-Germain are said to have inserted a 50% sell-on clause.
Now, the youngster is reportedly valued at up to €35m (£30m), so if he was sold for that amount, PSG would come away with a tidy profit. His contract runs until 2029 but it remains to be seen if he will remain at Fiorentina for much longer.
Incidentally, earlier this year, he spoke about what ne needs as a player to get the best out of him, and how the former Benfica and Atalanta academy player struggled through the coronavirus pandemic.
He said, via One Football, “By nature I tend to stagnate, I need stimulation. Benfica work well with young players, and I accepted also thanks to my parents who supported me. The first months were difficult, the Covid-19 pandemic meant we did everything by video call.
“At that time, staying at Atalanta was the obvious thing, I had joined the academy at 10. I was too young to move into a boarding school.”
He finished by saying he “never regrets” his choices. The way he is going, he will have to choose his next move carefully as his future looks bright.