Liverpool may have big edge in transfer race for 26y/o they could face in Europa League – report

According to reports from Italy, Liverpool may have a crucial edge in the transfer race for a midfielder who could potentially come up against the Reds in the near future.

The print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport claimed (via Sport Witness) that the Merseysiders are vying with Juventus for Teun Koopmeiners, who’s valued by his current club Atalanta in the region of €50m-€60m (£43m-£51m).

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While LFC would be able to readily ‘guarantee’ payment of such a fee, the Turin outfit would need to raise funds from elsewhere before they could stump up for the 26-year-old’s asking price. Anfield chiefs would also be in a position to offer the Dutchman a lucrative contract to seal the deal.

In turn, Atalanta would reportedly be more willing to sell the midfielder to Liverpool than the Bianconeri.

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Koopmeiners has a tremendous scoring record for a midfielder, with 12 goals to his name already this season, including a brace last weekend in a 2-2 draw against – somewhat ironically – Juventus (Transfermarkt).

The Dutchman also possess the ability to unlock opposition defences with his eye for a killer pass, averaging 1.9 key passes per game in the current Serie A campaign, a rate which’d put him fourth in Liverpool’s squad for that metrics in 2023/24 (WhoScored).

Anfield chiefs could potentially get a close-up look at the 26-year-old if Atalanta come through their Europa League round of 16 second leg against Sporting Lisbon tomorrow night and are paired with the Reds in a subsequent stage of the tournament.

Now that Michael Edwards is in situ, with Richard Hughes set to become LFC’s new sporting director, a sound structure is being put in place for the club to attack the summer transfer window.

If Koopmeiners continues to be prolific for Atalanta, and if he does find himself facing Liverpool in Europe over the coming weeks, that could well see him near the top of the Reds’ wish list during the off-season. If that proves to be case, the superior financial muscle over Juventus could come in very useful indeed.

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