Juventus lead race to sign Barcelona and Liverpool target with €30 million bid ready - Reports
Liverpool and Barcelona are on the verge of losing out on Khephren Thuram to Juventus, as reported by El Nacional. The Bianconeri are readying a sizeable bid of €30m for Thuram and are all set to beat their European rivals for Thuram's signature.
The French international predominantly plays in the centre of the pitch, with his versatile capabilities allowing him to be deployed as a defensive midfielder as well. Understandably so, both Liverpool and Barcelona have been previously linked with the 22-year-old, with both teams needing reinforcements in the midfield.
Barcelona recently sanctioned the departure of club-legend Sergio Busquets after 18 glittering years, leaving them short-staffed in the defensive midfield department. The Blaugrana have recruited La Masia graduate Oriol Romeu as a potential replacement, but the former Southampton midfielder is yet to prove his worth on the big stage.
Liverpool, on the other hand, need midfielders on an urgent basis, having offloaded veterans Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia. The Reds infamously lost both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Premier League rivals Chelsea, forcing them to restructure their recruitment strategy this summer.
While the Scousers recently confirmed the signing of Wataru Endo from Bundesliga minnows Stuttgart, the 30-year-old Japanese international will hardly solve all the defensive problems at Anfield.
Taking advantage of their rivals' issues, Juventus have taken the lead in the race to sign Khephren Thuram from OGC Nice. The Old Lady are planning to strengthen their squad in a bid to reclaim their place at the top of Italian football.
Liverpool and Barcelona have less than two weeks to sort out their transfer business
Xavi Hernandez finds himself in a troublesome situation after losing Ousmane Dembele to PSG. The Spanish coach has been vying for the signings of a midfielder and a right-back, but to no avail so far.
If reports by Fabrizio Romano are to be believed, Barcelona are in the final stages of completing a loan deal for Joao Cancelo. Nevertheless, they still need to sign a midfielder to complete their squad, as per Xavi.
So far, the Catalan giants have made three signings in the summer, welcoming Ilkay Gundogan, Inigo Martinez, and the aforementioned Romeu to the club.
Liverpool find themselves in a similar situation, with Jurgen Klopp needing a defensive midfielder to build a title charge this season. Apart from Wataru Endo, the Reds have also signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai this summer.
As reported by the Bild, Liverpool are planning to lodge a £20m bid for the out-of-favour Bayern Munich youngster Ryan Gravenberch. But no concrete step has been taken by the English giants at the time of writing.