Liverpool remain interested in completing the signing of Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries this summer, according to a new transfer update.
Right-back has been a crisis position for the Reds this season, with Conor Bradley out with a serious knee injury suffered midway through the campaign.
Jeremie Frimpong has been a disappointment since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen, not looking comfortable as either a full-back or a winger.
It has meant that Joe Gomez, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones have all had to fill in, which has been far from ideal for Arne Slot.
Liverpool may, therefore, target a new right-back in the summer transfer window, and Football Insider report that they are “plotting a move” for Dumfries.
It is claimed that the Reds have been “long-term admirers” of the 30-year-old Netherlands international, and Inter “could be powerless” to keep hold of him, due to him having a £21.8m release clause throughout July.
Is Denzel Dumfries the man to solve Liverpool’s right-back woes?
At 30, Dumfries isn’t a young player, but given his clause, he could be a clever signing for a few years, having been lauded by Micah Richards during the 2022 World Cup:
“Denzel Dumfries. What a player he is. I just thought his whole game was brilliant. It was his timing of his runs… He didn’t sort of mix it up too much but when he did it was the right moments. Down this right-hand side he was just breathless.”
Dumfries will likely again be a key figure for the Netherlands at this summer’s World Cup, and he has both attacking thrust and defensive solidity, scoring three goals and averaging 1.5 aerial duel wins per game in Serie A this season.
Bradley is still likely to be out for some time, while Frimpong doesn’t feel like the answer at right-back, so signing the Inter ace would clearly have its merits, even though he is arguably at his best as a wing-back.
Signing an ageing player is not something Liverpool have done much during the Jurgen Klopp and Slot era, but doing it as a one-off transfer could prove to be shrewd business.
Dumfries still has plenty to offer, and even if his very best days prove to be behind him, his price tag means that signing him wouldn’t be a huge gamble.