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Liverpool: Atletico target striker; talks with Championship club; swap deal for Wijnaldum?
Liverpool’s transfer window thus far has been pretty successful; they have managed to acquire some of their primary transfer targets, trimmed plenty of deadwood from the squad, all without facing any serious bids for their star players.
However, this could all be about to change, as Spanish giants the 21-year-old striker Divock Origi as an alternative should they fail to re-sign Diego Costa from Chelsea.
Origi, who intially struggled after his move to Anfield, developed into a fine player towards the end of the season, and was Jurgen Klopp’s first choice striker before a reckless challenge by Ramiro Funes Mori in the Merseyside derby kept him out of the last six weeks of the season.
With so much raw potential and also so much improvement and work ethic shown throughout his first season at the club, Liverpool fans will be keen to hold onto Origi, who became the first striker since the sale of Luis Suarez to properly cover for the constant injuries of Daniel Sturridge. This is a rumour that the fans will hope never gets out of the starting blocks.
One which has certainly accelerated over the last few days is a £20 million move for Newcastle United and Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum. Wijnaldum is keen to leave Newcastle after their relegation to the Championship, and despite rumours linking him to both Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, it appears that Liverpool is now the most likely Premier League destination.
Although Newcastle want £27 million for the midfielder, Liverpool think they can haggle the deal down to around £20 million, and were apparently buoyed by initial talks with Newcastle, which were held yesterday. The fee has not been agreed, though, and Newcastle are insistent that they will not budge on their asking price, which could make this a very expensive move for Liverpool to complete.
Wijnaldum is certainly a good player, having scored 11 goals in his debut Premier League season for the struggling Magpies, but questions have been asked over his ability to scrap both on the road and when relegation became more and more likely for his team towards the end of the season. Before the deal goes ahead and Liverpool spend so much money, they need to ensure that the Dutchman is willing to scrap for his team when skill isn’t quite enough.
One way the club could get more value for money out of the Wijnaldum deal would be a potential swap for Lucas Leiva, which has been reported in the . Despite some impressive performances in both the centre of midfield and defence last season, Lucas has been told by Jurgen Klopp that he is one of six players who is surplus to requirements, and he could join up with former manager Rafael Benitez at Newcastle.
Although Lucas may not wish to drop down a division, there are rumours that Benitez may offer the 29-year-old the captaincy to convince him to join the Championship club. Fabricio Coloccini has departed the club, leaving inexperienced Jamaal Lascelles as the primary option to take the armband. Lucas could solve problems for all sides by moving to St. James’ Park. If he is not wanted by Klopp, this could be the most satisfactory way for this deal to be concluded.
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