EXCL: Most likely signing as Liverpool aim for 2-3 midfielders, why LFC are unsure about rivalling Arsenal for Romeo Lavia, what Klopp needs in defence, Sadio Mane future, and more

Debut column from Liverpool writer Neil Jones as he delves into the latest LFC transfer news.

Hello and welcome to my first column for CaughtOffside! I’ll be joining Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Christian Falk and Jonathan Johnson here on the Daily Briefing with a weekly report on the latest Liverpool transfer news. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

The latest on Liverpool’s midfield search

The signing of Alexis Mac Allister may be done and dusted, but midfield remains a priority for Liverpool in this summer’s transfer market. Mac Allister is a significant signing to strengthen Jurgen Klopp’s options, but it’s never been a secret that the club ideally wanted two or even three new signings in that position.

Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner have already left, and even when they were there they weren’t too well stocked in midfield, so I don’t think they’re anywhere near done with their business in that position. There hasn’t been much movement since the Mac Allister deal was confirmed, but I think Liverpool are manoeuvring behind the scenes to find the players they really want.

Obviously Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone have been mentioned. From my understanding, Thuram is the likeliest out of those - the profile of him, his physique, his age, and the club he’s playing at, the kind of money that would be involved - I think he perfectly fits the bill. It remains to be seen how willing Nice are to let him go, and I think the fact that there looks like a number of midfield players likely to move soon in this market means that Nice might just be waiting to see the how the dominos fall, and what kind of price they can get for him.

Still, I think Liverpool and Thuram, even if it hasn’t moved much in the last seven days and a fee hasn’t yet been agreed, he’s definitely been identified as someone Liverpool want.

We’ve also known for some time that the Liverpool coaching staff are huge admirers of Nicolo Barella. Pep Lijnders referenced the Inter Milan midfielder in his book, naming him as one of the best midfielders in Europe and someone they were keeping a close eye on when they came up against Inter in the Champions League.