Liverpool are reportedly in a three-way battle with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain to sign PSV Eindhoven midfielder Ibrahim Sangare.
The Reds are seemingly in desperate need of a defensive midfielder following the departures of seasoned campaigners Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. And their need was accentuated further following the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
According to reports from ESPN, Liverpool are among a host of elite clubs interested in Ibrahim Sangare. Speaking to Good Morning Eredivisie, Kiki Musampa, the brother of Sangare’s agent, explained the reasoning behind the Ivorian’s rumoured €37 million (£32m) release clause.
“For those kinds of clubs, these are amounts that they can cough up. Nottingham Forest did bid, but that was not enough. You want to bring him to the club that suits him and where he will have opportunities to play.”
The report adds Nottingham Forest made a bid for Sangare earlier this transfer window but was turned down. The Ivorian, 25, has been a critical player for PSV Eindhoven since arriving from French club Toulouse in 2020, racking up 133 appearances so far. He registered five goals and an assist in 29 league appearances during the 2022/23 campaign, as PSV finished runners-up to Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.
Ibrahim Sangare to Liverpool—Should the Reds make a move?
Liverpool are still trying to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton, having lost Brighton’s Moises Caicedo to Chelsea. The Reds had an offer of £111m for Caicedo accepted last Thursday but were unable to convince the player to move to Anfield, with the Ecuadorian midfielder having already had agreed personal terms with Chelsea since May.
There could be another blow for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool if Chelsea beat them to the signing of Lavia. Southampton remain in talks with both clubs over the sale of Lavia, who wants to leave St Mary’s Stadium following the club’s relegation at the end of last season. Klopp will be hugely disappointed to miss out on a player he has been chasing for a while, but Ibrahim Sangare might be a solid alternative.
So far, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have been brought in to help Liverpool compete for the Premier League title, but none of the them are specialist holding midfielders. This is when the signing of Sangare would make sense.
A defensive midfielder by trade but capable of playing as a No.8 as well, Sangare would offer much-needed protection to Liverpool’s backline—something Fabinho did in recent years. There’s more to the Ivory Coast international’s game than just tackling and winning back possession for his team; he’s able to chip in with goals and assists, while being a link between midfield and attack.
Due to his myriad of skills, the 25-year-old would be very comfortable operating as a No.6 behind Mac Allister and Szoboszlai. In addition, Sangare would give the Reds’ midfield much-needed balance, which was evidently lacking in their season opener against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
With that being said, Sangare could just be the solution to solve Klopp’s midfield crisis quickly.