According to The Mirror, Liverpool could look to make a late swoop on AS Monaco attacking midfielder Keita Baldé as they seek attacking reinforcements following Philippe Coutinho’s sale.
The Merseysiders were keen on Thomas Lemar as the replacement for the Brazilian, but Monaco’s £90million asking price put them off.
The Ligue 1 outfit might be willing to listen to offers for Balde who hasn’t exactly lived up to the lofty expectations he set at Lazio last season.
Napoli are said to be in front of the queue for the Senegal international, but Liverpool could pip them to his signature by offering more.
The 22-year-old arrived for £30million, but would cost a little more with Monaco looking to continue their selling-for-profit spree.
Given that he scored 16 goals in 31 Serie A games last term, Balde could help bring more goals and creativity to Anfield.
His return of 6 goals and 5 assists across all competitions this term is also decent, but the former Barcelona Academy youngster doesn’t seem like a player that will walk straight into Liverpool’s XI.
The forwardline is already occupied and Balde is more of a forward, less of a midfielder, and it’s hard to see if he has the technical wherewithal to adapt his game to a positional change overnight.