Premier League side Liverpool are looking to make a shock move for Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, according to reports.
The Reds are in desperate need of midfield reinforcements in the summer aftr Jurgen Klopp ruled out any new signings before the transfer deadline.
“No, no, no. Nothing will happen in this transfer window,” Klopp told beIN Sports after his side lost 2-1 to Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
“That’s all. All good.”
Liverpool have had a nightmare first half of the season with Klopp’s side currently ninth in the Premier League table, ten points off fourth-placed Manchester United and 21 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
That has seen Klopp and his side come under intense scrutiny with many pundits, fans and former players pointing to their lack of depth and quality in midfield.
It is something they have been unable to address in the current transfer market and there are now lots of rumours about who they will sign in the summer.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is believed to be their top target but if Liverpool miss out on Champions League qualification then it could become harder to land players on their wishlist.
Spanish publication Nacional claim that Chelsea midfielder Kante – who is out of contract in the summer – is a reinforcement that Klopp has now ‘requested’ from the Liverpool board.
The Reds are looking to bring in a ‘couple of new faces’ in midfield and the ‘first signing they want’ is Kante from Chelsea with Klopp in ‘no doubt that the former Leicester City and Caen player is still a world-class star’.
Liverpool boss Klopp ‘believes that he would fit in perfectly at Anfield’ with the Merseysiders looking to sign him on a free transfer in the summer.
The Reds would only be too happy to ‘weaken a direct rival like Chelsea’ but the Blues are ‘working to prevent the departure of one of the biggest stars in the squad’.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly ‘has scheduled a meeting with Kante and his manager to convince him to stay at Stamford Bridge, and reject Klopp’.
And Bellingham has been warned by former England international Paul Robinson to “see if Liverpool improve” before committing his future to the club.
Robinson told Football Insider: “If I was Bellingham, I would watching from the outside very carefully without making decision yet.
“He does not need to make a decision right now. He should wait until the end of the season and see if Liverpool improve. I think we all expect them to improve but if they don’t maybe he should look to go to Real Madrid or Man City instead.
“I’m sure Bellingham would accept not being in the Champions League for one season but if Liverpool’s decline continues…
“There is a rebuild going on there at the moment. We will know by the summer just how big a rebuild it needs to be. Bellingham will be able to join any one of the big clubs in Europe so he does not need to decide right here and now.”
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