There have been updates on the futures of Federico Chiesa and Joe Gomez as Liverpool make big changes to their squad in preparation for their Premier League title defence next season.
Liverpool have already been busy in the transfer market, with Jeremie Frimpong joining from Bayer Leverkusen in a €35million (£29.5m / $40m) deal and replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has joined Real Madrid. Liverpool did exceptionally well to receive €10m (£8.4m / $11.4m) for Alexander-Arnold despite his contract running down, as they let him join Madrid early for the Club World Cup.
Liverpool have also sold backup goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher to Brentford for £18m (€21.4m / $24.4m). That is due to the impending arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was signed last summer before spending the season back on loan at Valencia.
The Reds are locked in negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz. They have had two bids rejected so far and owners FSG have reportedly greenlit a sensational third offer.
Wirtz is likely to smash Liverpool’s transfer record and this means there will need to be at least one or two sales to help balance the books.
Chiesa is one player who could depart. He only moved to Anfield last summer but is already under threat as he managed just 14 appearances in his debut season.
According to Italian journalist Sebastiano Sarno, Chiesa has ‘reached a verbal agreement’ with Italian giants AC Milan ‘in the last few days’.
Milan are ‘now in negotiations with Liverpool and hope to close [the deal] at a reasonable price’.
Chiesa has been heavily linked with a move back to Serie A ever since it first emerged that he would not be a regular starter with Liverpool.
Napoli are interested in the winger but Milan appear to be in a better position to sign him.
Liverpool originally paid Juventus £10m plus £2.5m in potential add-ons for Chiesa. It was claimed in April that they want to make a good profit by selling him for €25-30m (£21-25m), though such speculation has yet to be confirmed.
On Tuesday, Chiesa told Gazzetta dello Sport he ‘still loves’ Juve and that he would be open to a return. But he could leave the Juve supporters angry by joining rivals Milan instead.
The Rossoneri may have only finished eighth in Serie A, but they remain one of the most glamorous sides in the world, having won the Champions League/European Cup seven times in their history. This is how they can attract players such as Chiesa and even departing Real Madrid icon Luka Modric.
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Joe Gomez another potential Liverpool sale
A separate report from Empire of the Kop claims defender Gomez could follow Chiesa out of Liverpool.
FSG are ‘open to letting the 28-year-old leave’ and have slapped a €30m price tag on him. The club ‘will not stand in his way’ if Gomez signals a desire to leave and pick up regular starts at another side.
‘No fewer than eight Premier League clubs are keeping close tabs on Gomez’, too. They are Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Everton, Bournemouth, West Ham United and newly-promoted trio Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland.
Those teams are all ‘informed’ on Gomez’s situation and believe they can sign him for less than Liverpool’s €30m asking price.
The Englishman is ready to consider all possibilities as he would like to pick up more minutes.
Gomez has been a useful player for Liverpool as he can operate anywhere across the backline. But he has always struggled to be a guaranteed starter at Liverpool due to the likes of Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate already being in the team.
Luis Diaz, Kostas Tsimikas, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott are some of the players who could be sold by Liverpool this summer.
Diaz and Nunez are both targets for Saudi Arabian clubs, and those moves would bring in significant money for Arne Slot’s side.
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