Liverpool plotting surprise move for 23-year-old Premier League defensive midfielder – Reports
Liverpool are reportedly considering a summer move for Crystal Palace midfielder Cheick Doucoure as a potential Fabinho replacement.
The Reds are currently in the process of a midfield revamp following their sub-par showing last campaign. They have already released James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and could also lose Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia this summer.
Last week, Football Insider reported that Jurgen Klopp's side expect to lose both the Brazilian and the Englishman for a combined fee of £50 million. While the former is allegedly close to joining Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad, the latter has been linked with Al-Ettifaq.
Now, according to the latest update on the aforementioned outlet, Liverpool are said to be exploring a move to sign Doucoure in the near future. They are of the opinion that the 23-year-old could effectively replace Fabinho in the defensive midfield role in Klopp's 4-3-3 setup.
Doucoure, who was named the Crystal Palace Player of the Year in the last campaign, joined the Eagles from RC Lens in a deal worth up to £22 million last summer. He started all of his 35 appearances for his club past term.
Prior to his move to the Premier League, the 12-cap Mali international helped Lens gain promotion to the Ligue 1 and achieve two straight seventh-place finishes in the top-flight. He registered eight goals and seven assists in 131 games across all competitions for them.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have paid around £95 million on two new midfielders this summer. They roped in Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion before signing Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig.
Liverpool backed to rope in Portuguese star
Speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Neil Jones stated that Liverpool could launch a move for Benfica star Florentino Luis. He said:
"A name I would urge to look out for is Florentino Luis who plays for Benfica. I think he's someone who could come into contention. He's a very Fabinho-type player, a defensive midfielder, gets around the pitch, gets his foot in as well. If Liverpool are looking for a like-for-like replacement, then they could do a lot worse than look at Luis."
Luis, 23, has emerged as one of the best up-and-coming holding midfielders in the world over the past couple of seasons. He has helped his boyhood club lift a total of three trophies, including two Primeira Ligas.
Apart from Luis, the Reds are also reportedly monitoring a host of other midfielders as potential Fabinho successors. They have been linked with Romeo Lavia, Kalvin Phillips and Sofyan Amrabat in the recent past.