‘I think it could happen…’ – German reporter confident Liverpool will land £34m summer target
Reliable German reporter Tobi Altschäffl has voiced his confidence that Liverpool could sign Manu Kone this summer, hinting that it mightn’t turn into a prolonged transfer saga given the likely fee involved.
Having spoken exclusively with Empire of the Kop on Wednesday, the SportBILD journalist was later in conversation with Dan Clubbe of The Redmen TV regarding the Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder, who could cost in the region of €30m-€40m (£25.7m-£34.4m).
He suggested that the comparatively low profile of the 22-year-old in comparison to other, more ubiquitous players in the Bundesliga could help the Reds to secure a cost-effective deal relatively quickly.
Altschäffl said: “Liverpool is very interested in Manu Kone. He’s not the rising star of the Bundesliga. He’s not like a Jude Bellingham or something like that, but he’s a very good, very strong midfielder.
“I think there were talks already between Liverpool and the side of Kone. It’s not the biggest transfer that it’ll take weeks or months because it’s not €100m. It’s only €30m, €40m maybe, so I think it could happen.”
It’s striking that Altschäffl namechecked Bellingham as a comparison, with the Borussia Dortmund midfielder having been in Liverpool’s sights for a long time before they pulled out of the race for him amid reports of a £135m asking price (The Guardian).
Earlier this week, we analysed his statistics from the 2022/23 Bundesliga season alongside those of Kone and concluded that while the Englishman may have had a slight edge overall, there wasn’t so much between them that he’d clearly be worth around £100m more than his French counterpart.
The SportBILD journalist also referenced in his conversation with The Redmen TV that Monchengladbach are experiencing financial difficulties and will probably be forced to sell some assets after a poor campaign, stating that ‘they know it makes sense’ for them to sell the Anfield target this summer.
In theory, that should make it easier for Liverpool to cherry-pick him from Borussia-Park, and with an outlay of around £34m likely to be affordable for the Reds, hopefully they won’t have too much trouble in going on to make him one of Jorg Schmadtke’s first signings as sporting director on Merseyside.
You can see Altschäffl’s comments in full below, via Redmen TV 2 on YouTube:
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