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Barcelona have threatened to poach one of Liverpool’s top stars, but players may soon be moving in the other direction
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Liverpool are reportedly working on a deal to bring two Barcelona stars to Anfield. As ever in this window, questions will arise about what Liverpool can truly afford after an expensive start to the summer. But with all the recent talk has been about Luis Diaz swapping Merseyside for Camp Nou, the Reds are weighing up a couple of players to move in the opposite direction. Having spent almost nothing last summer, this window has been starkly different, with Arne Slot’s side breaking the British transfer record to sign former Bayer Leverkusen man Florian Wirtz. That’s added to significant outlays for Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, and links with the likes of Hugo Ekitike have not gone away. Despite that, there still appears to be plenty of room in Liverpool accounts, with Spanish outlet Fichajes claiming that the Reds are working on offers for Barca duo Fermin Lopez and Andreas Christensen. The Merseysiders, according to the report, are ready to offer €80m for Lopez and €20m for Christensen. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Lopez is rated highly, and the 22-year-old has played a number of central and wide roles throughout last season, but that adaptability has not entirely eased the difficulty of battling for minutes at Barca. That challenge has been felt even more intensely by Christensen, who missed a lot of the season with injury but, even when fit, struggled for minutes. With Jarell Quansah’s move to Leverkusen confirmed, the Dane may be willing to head to Anfield as cover. In Four Four Two’s opinion, if Lopez wants out of Barca to find more minutes, Liverpool is not the club to head for, given that his favoured positions almost entirely mirror those of Wirtz, meaning he is likely to encounter the same struggles at Anfield. Christensen makes much more sense; a relatively cheap deal for an experienced player who can bolster Liverpool’s relatively light centre-back department. Four Four Two understands that Liverpool are looking more for a natural goalscorer than Fermin: the interest hasn't been widely reported and as such the idea that a bid may be imminent could well be wide of the mark. Lopez is valued at €50m by Transfermarkt, with Christensen placed at €12m. Isaac Stacey Stronge is a freelance football writer working for Four Four Two, Manchester United and Football League World. He has been a season ticket holder at Stockport County throughout the Hatters’ meteoric rise from the National League North to League One and is a die-hard Paddy Madden fan. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
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