Liverpool transfer target rejects new deal - £33m+ bid possible

AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer has rejected a new contract amidst reported interest from Liverpool.

The player's agent, Moussa Sissoko (no, not the former Tottenham midfielder), has informed the club that he will not be accepting a new deal to extend after his ends in 2024.

Calciomercato state that Sissoko, who also represents Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, told Milan that his client must receive a large increase on his reported salary of £33,500 per week in order to stay with Italians.

Bennacer was a key figure in Stefano Pioli’s title-winning side from last season, playing 31 times in the Serie A.

He signed from Empoli who he had rebuilt his career with after leaving the youth ranks at Arsenal, who are also interested in securing his signature.

The midfielder has played 40 times for Algeria already at the age of 24, and would be a versatile and dynamic option for Jurgen Klopp this window.

Earlier this month, CalcioMercatoWeb reported that the Anfield club were considering a €40m (£33.5m) bid for the star.

Liverpool are currently suffering from a mini-crisis of injuries in the midfield area, which will surely spark them into moving in the transfer market.

Curtis Jones, Thiago and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all out injured, whilst Joel Matip, Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate, Calvin Ramsay and others are missing in other positions. Darwin Nunez is also suspended for the next three matches.

But the boss has remained coy on the possibility signing a new player in the middle of the park.

"The thing is, it is easy for us to bring a midfielder in but it is not so easy to bring the right midfielder in," he told Sky Sports. "There are money reasons and contractual reasons which, most of the time, go hand-in-hand.

"Now the situation has changed slightly: we have more injuries, that's true. But it can still only be about the right [player] and that is not easy. It is nothing to do with that it is now August already and at the end of August, the transfer window closes.”

Bennacer would certainly be an option to consider with his title-winning experience already with La Rossoneri, but it is likely agent talk to increase his wages.