Liverpool have been brought into the conversation over the future of Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze, with there “long-standing interest” from Anfield.
It has been a busy summer of transfers for Liverpool so far, with six players brought in including club-record signing Florian Wirtz.
Those new arrivals will report for the start of pre-season at the AXA Training Centre this week, with right-back Jeremie Frimpong among those pictured driving into the Kirkby facility on Tuesday morning.
And though the focus has rightly shifted over the past week following the death of Diogo Jota, the likelihood is that more changes are to come.
According to the Independent‘s Miguel Delaney, sources “close to the situation” around Eze’s future “believe Liverpool may yet activate [their] long-standing interest.”
This comes with the England international subject of overtures from Arsenal, who are “working on a payment structure for a bid” that would appease Palace.
Eze is available for around £60 million due to a release clause in his contract at Selhurst Park, but with Arsenal attempting to working around their PSR situation they are hoping to negotiate three instalments of £20 million.
That removes the ability to trigger Eze’s release with a set fee, with the £60 million instead simply used as a yardstick for Palace’s valuation.
Whether Liverpool would push for a move for the 27-year-old remains to be seen, but there may be a need to strengthen Arne Slot‘s attack in the coming weeks.
The sad passing of Jota could magnify the need for new signings, as would any move for either or both of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, who are attracting concrete interest from high-profile clubs in Europe.
Eze is a natural attacking midfielder but has considerable experience in every role across midfield and attack – including 80 games playing as a left winger.
That would be the area of focus if Liverpool were to receive a suitable offer from the likes of Barcelona or Bayern Munich for Diaz, who recently admitted he is “negotiating” with interested parties.
A move for Eze would further address the homegrown situation in Slot’s squad, with the former QPR attacker spending his youth development at Arsenal, Fulham, Reading and Millwall.
Liverpool are already pursuing another Palace player in centre-back Marc Guehi, though developments on his situation have stalled since Jota’s death.
It is unclear if links with Eze are substantial or not – as there is a chance Liverpool are simply being used to accelerate talks with Arsenal – but their interest would certainly make sense.
