Having enjoyed an incredibly busy summer incomings wise here in the Football Transfer Tavern, our resident Liverpool fans have got more than used to the whole hold the scarf up and pose for the media shenanigans.
The latest player who will; be succumbing to that fate is Real Madrid’s Asier Illarramendi if you believe what you read in The Telegraph who claim the uncapped Spanish ace is set to move to Anfield after the Reds lodged an improved offer of £14.2 million.
Not shy of spending a few bob, this price doesn’t seem too crazy in today’s market and if the reports regarding the Spaniard are accurate, Liverpool will be receiving a talented player who has simply succumbed to being a less glamorous option behind the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric at the Bernabeu.
Following Los Blancos’ January signing of Lucas Silva to boot, Illarramendi has been pushed furthermore down the pecking order so you can understand why he’s been looking for a way out of the Bernabeu this summer.
With Lucas Leiva, Emre Can, Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen and James Milner capable of playing in the deep midfield role, the addition of Illarramendi will only solidify a strong area for Brendan Rodgers.
But with the Illarramendi transfer reportedly moments from completion, could anybody else be following the Spaniard to Anfield in this summer? We take a look at five men who could be following him.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 players to follow Asier Illarramendi to Liverpool this summer.
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Adama Traore
Our Liverpool fans wonder if their summer transfer business will ever stop right now with another La Liga player in Adama Traore also reportedly flying in for a medical with Liverpool.
The winger currently plays for Barcelona B but has been an unused substitute in the Catalan giants’ first team on a few occasions previously but it appears he’s set to continue his footballing education with the Reds.
Also linked with the likes of Manchester United, Stoke City and Southampton this summer, Adama as he’s known completed 14 assists last season and with stats like these, it’s unsurprising that Brendan Rodgers has been alerted.
With the likes of Adam Lallana, Jordon Ibe, Lazar Markovic, not to mention Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino as options on the wing, Traore will further bolster an already overstocked looking area.
Denis Cheryshev
It’s most definitely going to be a case of one or the other at Anfield this summer but while Reds fans read up on Adama Traore reportedly flying in for a medical, there are still stories claiming Liverpool will be moving for Real Madrid’s Denis Cheryshev.
Playing in Traore’s position on the wing, Cheryshev has been awarded a first team squad number (21) at Real Madrid for the first time this season but with the window still open, this number could yet be reserved for a high profile incoming.
Cheryshev has already enjoyed loan spells at Sevilla and Villarreal over the past two seasons, the Russian international made much more of an impression with the Yellow Submarine last term.
The latest from The Telegraph is that the Reds will lodge a £14.9 million bid for Cheryshev so our resident Liverpool fans are waiting for the Sky Sports News yellow breaking news ticker tape to see whether it’ll be the Russian or alternatively Traore who will be rocking up next.
Alvaro Negredo
For Arsenal fans here in the tavern, they thought their club’s links with Juventus’ Fernando Llorente were the most underwhelming of the summer so far but then came the rumours of Alvaro Negredo joining Liverpool.
The former Manchester City man is now permanently on the books of Valencia but has definitely lost his way of late, striking just five goals in 30 La Liga appearances on loan with Los Che last season.
Now while The Mirror have more recently claimed that the Spaniard would favour remaining at the Mestalla over joining Liverpool this summer, The Telegraph linked the Reds with his signature a few days ago and who knows, if Mario Balotelli departs, perhaps Brendan Rodgers will be in the market for a cut-price replacement.
Balotelli has been interesting Bologna of late and with the Italian international having flopped massively last season, he appears something of an outcast on Merseyside at present.
Lucas Digne
Despite boasting Spanish duo Jose Enrique and Alberto Moreno as options at left back, Liverpool fans have thought it’s rather strange that the club have been so heavily linked with Lucas Digne of late.
The Paris Saint-Germain full back battles with Maxwell for a place in Laurent Blanc’s starting eleven right now and the likes of the Liverpool Echo have claimed the Reds are battling it out with Roma to land the French international.
Just 22-years-old, Digne fits into Rodgers’ category of Liverpool looking to go after younger players but surely one of the Reds’ current left backs would have to depart for him to arrive?
After just one season with Liverpool, Alberto Moreno has been linked with a switch to Barcelona and if the Spanish international has designs on becoming an expensive substitute, perhaps we can expect Liverpool to go in hard for Digne.
Alexandre Lacazette
Just when you thought that all of the transfer speculation surrounding Alexandre Lacazette was over for good, The Express are among those that are now claiming Liverpool will lodge a last ditch £21.2 million bid in an attempt to prise the French international away from Lyon.
This is the longest shot of them all because on the face of it, we simply can’t see Jean-Michel Aulas and Les Gones accepting that fee for their prized asset and in a European Championships year to boot.
This is not to mention the fact that Lacazette has already come out and publicly claimed that he is happy at Stade Gerland but this is the transfer window folks and how quickly have we seen things turn around previously? Just ask Fabian Delph.
If Liverpool release Mario Balotelli before the end of the window, perhaps the Reds will better the reported £21.2 million while offering Lyon more of a tempting offer they can’t refuse late on.
