Liverpool are reportedly looking to hijack Chelsea's move for Malick Fofana. The Reds see the Lyon star as the ideal next addition to the squad as they look to bolster the attack.
As per a report in The Independent, Fofana is seen as the left-winger target amid rumors of Luis Diaz's possible exit. The Colombian is a target for Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and Arne Slot's side want to bring in a young winger as his backup.
Fofana is seen as the ideal option but is set to cost £51.5 million despite the French side's relegation to the Ligue 2 due to financial issues. Chelsea were in talks with the 20-year-old but switched their focus to Jamie Gittens and João Pedro.
The Reds still have competition from Nottingham Forest, who have already agreed a deal with Lyon. However, the Belgian winger is not interested in moving to the City Ground and is holding out for a side playing in the UEFA Champions League.
Slot's side could offload Diaz in the summer should they agree a deal for Fofana as the Colombian has interest from several sides. While Barcelona and Bayern Munich have made inquiries, Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr are also said to be interested in him.
Liverpool were set for a big summer, per Van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk spoke about Liverpool's transfer plans and confirmed that the club were planning to spend big. He added that they were keen on winning trophies for years to come and saw the summer as the perfect opportunity to bolster the squad.
He said via The Athletic:
“I think Liverpool should be able to challenge for titles in the upcoming years. Whatever happens in the summer in terms of players going out, players coming in, I think it should be a big summer. I think they’re planning to make it a big summer so we all have to trust the board as a Liverpool connected fan to do the right job.”
“I think 100 per cent we can improve. If you take it all the way back to last summer, l didn’t have a proper pre-season. You don’t have time to work on what the manager really wants in terms of a training camp. This year there is a training camp and there is time for the team to work on what the manager wants and I think that will then improve the team."
Liverpool have signed Jeremy Frimpong and Milos Kerkez to bolster their defense. They have also broken the Premier League transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.