Liverpool are interested in securing the signature of PSV Eindhoven midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, but face competition from Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Reds have suffered two big blows in a span of 48 hours. After Moises Caicedo rejected them to join Chelsea, it appears Romeo Lavia could follow suit, despite the Merseysiders having had a bid worth up to £60m accepted by Southampton on Sunday night. However, like Caicedo, Liverpool have been unable to convince Lavia to choose them, and now Chelsea are confident of wrapping up a deal for the Southampton midfielder.
This has forced Jurgen Klopp and the club to shift their focus elsewhere. Klopp is seemingly in desperate need of a defensive midfielder following the departures of seasoned campaigners Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. And the German manager’s need was accentuated further following the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
As a result, Liverpool are reportedly now looking to make a move for Ibrahim Sangare, with Kiki Musampa—the brother of the player’s agent—explaining the reasoning behind the Ivorian midfielder’s rumoured €37 million (£32m) release clause.
“For those kinds of clubs, these are amounts that they can cough up. Nottingham Forest did bid, but that was not enough. You want to bring him to the club that suits him and where he will have opportunities to play.”
Liverpool switched focus to Ibrahim Sangare following failed Moises Caicedo pursuit
Nottingham Forest made a bid for Ibrahim Sangare earlier this transfer window but was turned down. The Ivory Coast international, 25, has starred for PSV Eindhoven since arriving from French club Toulouse in 2020, racking up 133 appearances so far. He was among the club’s best players last term, bagging five goals and an assist in 29 league appearances, as PSV finished runners-up to Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.
Sangare appears to be on the radar of some of Europe’s elite clubs, including Liverpool. After the signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Klopp has been desperate to add more depth in midfield.
Liverpool have allowed James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Alexi Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabinho to leave this year. They started with a midfield trio of Mac Allister, Gakpo and Szoboszlai during their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday. The Merseyside giants have funds required to spend, as demonstrated by agreeing on an offer of £111m with Brighton for Caicedo.
With Sangare rumoured to have a €37 million release clause in his contract, Liverpool shouldn’t face problems signing him. Sangare, if he arrives at Anfield, would walk straight into the No.6 role vacated by Fabinho and add much-needed physicality and power to the Reds’ midfield. With the Ivorian also an excellent passer and reader of the game, he ticks fundamentally every box Klopp is looking for in his next midfield addition.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Liverpool lodge a bid for Sangare in the coming days.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
