As the days quickly pass by, the targets are dwindling for Liverpool to pursue and we’re almost back to square one in the hunt for a defensive-minded midfielder this summer.
Speaking exclusively with Empire of the Kop, Neil Jones said: ‘There’s a possibility the club may look at Cheick Doucoure from Crystal Palace.
‘He’s 23, a defensive midfielder, someone adept at stopping counter-attacks. Maybe not as progressive as Caicedo or Lavia on the ball but you have to consider him’.
READ MORE: Neil Jones names €30m midfield target Liverpool could sign from Serie A
The Crystal Palace man emerged as a potential target ‘among those being considered’ to replace Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, following their shock moves to Saudi Arabia earlier in the window.
It was quickly revealed that the Reds would need to fork out around £70 million for his services (Alex Howell) and that seemed to cool our interest in Cheick Doucoure.
However, seeing as we have now seen both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia head to Chelsea and we know that the Reds can afford to pay around £111 million for a new player – this move for the 23-year-old could be back on the cards.
The main issue in though, we’ve shown the whole market our hand and due to the desperation of our situation and time left before the window closes – everyone is going to add a ‘Liverpool tax’ to any midfielders we try to sign.
Poor management of the transfer window has left us in a rather compromising position, something which is likely to mean we take a financial hit on a player we never really prioritised as a summer target.