"I'm not aware of any negotiation" – Fabrizio Romano dismisses Chelsea and Liverpool links with 22-year-old midfielder

Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oihan Sancet has reportedly popped up on Chelsea and Liverpool's radar of late. However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has dismissed recent speculations about the Spaniard.

Sancet, 22, has established himself as a regular starter for Los Leones in the last two campaigns. Since making his senior debut in August 2019, he has helped his boyhood club win the Supercopa de Espana.

A box-to-box operator blessed with passing and shooting, the Spain U21 star has been in fine form in the ongoing season. He has netted seven goals in 20 La Liga appearances, with his stunning hat-trick in Athletic's 4-1 recent win over Cadiz earning him a lot of praise.

🦌🎱

⭐️ 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵

#AthleticCádiz #AthleticClub 🦁 https://t.co/ELO7Ugc9aW

In his Caught Offside column, Romano said that neither Chelsea nor Liverpool have opened talks with Athletic for Sancet:

"Despite the recent stories about Oihan Sancet, I'm not aware of any negotiation with either Chelsea or Liverpool as of now. I think he's a very good player, but the price tag is always very important with Athletic Bilbao, so it's never easy to negotiate with them."

Sancet, who has a deal till June 2024 at the San Mames, is renowned for his versatility in the middle of the park. Despite being a central midfielder, he's also adept as a withdrawn forward.

5 - Youngest players to score two hat-tricks in LaLiga in the 21st century:

🇵🇾 Antonio Sanabria (19 years, 324 days)
🇦🇷 Gonzalo Higuaín (22y 94d)
🇧🇷 Júlio Baptista (22y 200d)
🇦🇷 Lionel Messi (22y 200d)
🇪🇸 OIHAN SANCET (22y 284d)

Stellar. https://t.co/08hluCrsVp

The Blues are on a spending spree, aiming to rebuild their midfield from scratch after offloading Jorginho and snapping up Enzo Fernandez last month. The Reds, meanwhile, could launch a move for Sancet, as James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are set to leave on free transfer this summer.

Stan Collymore says Chelsea could look to lure Jurgen Klopp if Reds sack him

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore told Caught Offside that Chelsea could aim to bring Jurgen Klopp to Stamford Bridge if the Reds fire him this season. He said:

"The reality is, if FSG sack Klopp, there is no one else out there better equipped to do a better job. So anyone calling for him to go should be careful about what they are wishing for because I'm certain that if he suddenly became available, you'd have Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG and even Chelsea all lining up to bring him in."

Sharing his thoughts on Klopp's situation, Collymore added:

"I still don't think Klopp should be facing the sack. I know they're having an awful season but we need to look further back than just the past six months. When he came in, Liverpool were a real mess!"

The Reds (29) are languishing in tenth place in the Premier League after 21 games, 11 points off fourth-placed Newcastle United.