Liverpool aiming to sign midfield sensation who admitted he would like to play for Manchester City – Reports

Liverpool are allegedly aiming to snap up KRC Genk midfielder Bilal El Khannous, who is thought to be hopeful about joining Premier League champions Manchester City in the future.

According to Italian news website Corriere dello Sport, El Khannous is keen to seal a permanent transfer to Pep Guardiola's outfit one day.

However, as per a new update from the aforesaid source, Liverpool have added El Khannous to their transfer shortlist of late. They are likely to face fierce competition from Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign the 19-year-old, who is currently valued at close to £16 million.

Should El Khannous move to the Anfield outfit in the future, he would emerge as a great rotational option for them. He would provide competition to the likes of Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, and Harvey Elliott in a number eight role of the team's preferred 4-3-3 system.

El Khannous, whose current deal is set to expire in June 2027, has been a regular starter for Genk since the start of last season. The Liverpool target has contributed four goals and seven assists in 68 outings, including 60 starts, across competitions for the Belgian side so far.

Ex-Liverpool star Jan Molby names position where Reds should strengthen in the future

Speaking recently to LiverpoolWorld at the launch of the Ultimate LFC Experience, ex-Reds midfielder Jan Molby claimed that Jurgen Klopp's side still need a holding midfielder. He elaborated:

"I still think we feel we need possibly another midfielder for the puzzle to fall into place. As well as we have done, I'm still searching for what our best midfield three is in terms of combination and balance that you're quite happy to send out to play when you go to Manchester City and Arsenal, our two closest competitors."

Stating that the Reds are devoid of a natural number six, Molby added:

"It looks like we might just need [the number-six role]. Alexis Mac Allister has been asked to play that role and is a press-resistant number-six but I don't think he's been capable of showing his best."

The Merseyside outfit, who are third in the 2023-24 Premier League standings with 28 points from 13 games, opted to refresh their midfield in the summer. They let go of the likes of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and James Milner to add four new stars to their star-studded ranks.

After spending £35 million on Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool forked out £60 million to sign Dominik Szoboszlai. They snapped up Wataru Endo for £16 million and Ryan Gravenberch for £34 million afterwards.