The summer transfer window doesn’t open until 1 June, but Liverpool already appear to be making serious moves off the pitch in recent days.
On Thursday, David Ornstein reported that Anfield chiefs are ‘advancing in talks’ to sign Jeremie Frimpong, and there’s an ‘increased confidence’ that the Bayer Leverkusen right-back will be playing with the Premier League champions next season.
Meanwhile, Bundesliga insider Christian Falk has claimed that representatives of Florian Wirtz met with the LFC hierarchy in the northwest of England this week, with Paul Joyce reliably hinting at the possibility of making a ‘strong pitch’ to try and secure a deal for the Germany playmaker.
According to sources close to Empire of the Kop, Liverpool are also targeting the possible signing of a left-back this summer, namely Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Liverpool ‘expected to negotiate’ for Rayan Ait-Nouri
The Reds are competing with Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan for the Wolves defender, with Molineux chiefs working on plans to extend his contract to 2030 and considerably increase his salary.
The Old Gold value the 23-year-old at £40m-£45m, with interested parties like LFC ‘expected to negotiate’ for him during the summer transfer window.
Sources suggests that the Algerian may prioritise a move to a leading Premier League club, but his decision will likely be contingent on the outcome of negotiations with Wolves.
Ait-Nouri could be a potential ‘game changer’ for Liverpool
Even amid Liverpool’s ongoing interest in Milos Kerkez, sporting director Richard Hughes appears to be casting a wide net in the search for a new left-back by also pursuing Ait-Nouri, who’s helped himself to five goals and seven assists during a productive season at Molineux.
A tactical insight by Kyle Boas for Tactics Journal deduced that the Algeria international is ‘a game changer when he is allowed to roam’, something he could well be given license to do in Arne Slot’s side if the Reds were to sign him.
That qualitative analysis is mirrored in statistics from FBref. Compared with full-backs in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year, the 23-year-old ranks among the top 3% for successful take-ons per game, the top 9% for touches in the attacking penalty area and the top 16% or higher with his match averages for assits, shots taken, non-penalty goals and progressive carries.
Those figures highlight Ait-Nouri as a hugely dynamic left-back who can be devastating going forward, just like Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been at Liverpool in recent years.
It remains to be seen just how seriously Hughes will pursue a prospective move for the Wolves defender, but if the chase for Kerkez were to hit a dead end, his Algerian counterpart may well jump to the head of the queue in LFC’s search for a new signing in that area of the pitch.
