“Lots Of Boxes Being Ticked” – Paul Gorst On Liverpool Interest In Bournemouth Trio | OneFootball

By James Cranford

After almost three weeks without a competitive fixture, Liverpool strengthened their grip on the Premier League title race earlier this week with a hard-fought 1-0 over Everton.

Diogo Jota silenced his doubters with a superb run and finish which saw the Reds extend their lead at the top of the table to 12 points.

Despite the club’s excellent league campaign, there have been murmurs of discontent over their lack of transfer business under Arne Slot, further fuelled by the stories emerging from Spain claiming that Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.

Former Red Jamie Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column that he believes LFC sporting director Richard Hughes needs to push for as many as six signings this summer. It has been suggested that Hughes should look no further than his former employers Bournemouth, whose stars Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Antoine Semenyo have all been linked with moves to Anfield.

One of those links came from The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, who suggested 25-year-old attacker Semenyo could be set to depart the Cherries for a fee in excess of £50 million.

On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we asked Liverpool Echo’s LFC correspondent Paul Gorst for his thoughts on the Bournemouth links.

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Paul said:

[On Kerkez]

“There’s talk of Kerkez costing £40 million upwards, I don’t think that would make Liverpool blink, really. That just tends to be the going rate for a player who they think can improve their first team.

“If they can sell Tsimikas for X amount of money, that would offset that considerably, by maybe at least a quarter, you’d imagine.

“It does feel as though this is one that could materialise now, and it wouldn’t necessarily mean that Robertson’s days are numbered.

“I think Kerkez could certainly learn a lot from Robertson. Ten years between them – they’re very similar sorts of left backs in terms of absolutely motoring up and down the flank, looking to create assists, aggressive front-footed, but also very defensively sound as well.”

[On Huijsen]

“He’s played himself into the Spain reckoning already and he’s only 19. That’s seriously impressive. You look at how well Bournemouth have done this season and he’s been a big part of that.

“Liverpool will need to replace Virgil van Dijk at some stage. They probably need a centre-back now. So, there are a lot of boxes being ticked.

“Bournemouth feel like a club that Liverpool could deal with and not encounter too many stumbling blocks. They’re clearly aware of him, what he can do, and how good he is, and how good he can be. I do think Liverpool like release clauses as well.”

[On Semenyo]

“When you have a report – as a bit of a rule – that names several clubs, that normally suggests that the information might be coming from the agent who’s keen to extol the virtues of his client and let it be known that several clubs are tracking him.

“I couldn’t see Liverpool going for someone 25 – at that price range – without someone leaving. Of all the three Bournemouth links, this one feels like it might be the one that doesn’t get done.”

Redmen Reacts

With quality players coming at a steep premium, it feels unlikely that Liverpool would bring in as many as the six signings suggested by Jamie Carragher unless one or more of them are free transfers. Links to Milos Kerkez have persisted for at least the last six months, and with left-back believed to be a priority position for strengthening, the Hungarian seems like the most likely signing of the three Bournemouth stars. Dean Huijsen has impressed in his debut Premier League campaign and will therefore have suitors from all over Europe. His signature would represent something of a coup for the Reds, but sporting director Richard Hughes may have an advantage in negotiations given his role in bringing Huijsen to England in the first place. Antoine Semenyo was a constant threat in the game between Bournemouth and Liverpool earlier this season, but his relative lack of goals and assists may prove to be a stumbling block given the quoted fee of over £50 million.