Liverpool Are Willing To Include Their Midfielder In A Deal To Sign £77.5M Rated Star

It remains unclear whether Liverpool will go all out for a new midfielder this summer. The acquisition of Darwin Nuñez at an initial £68.5 million has set the Reds back financially, and the pursuit of a new star player in the middle of the park could be postponed until next summer.

That said, Liverpool may be willing to get creative in the ways in which they operate during the transfer market.

Italian website CMW claim Liverpool would be interested in in a swap deal with Inter Milan which would see them acquire Nicolo Barella with Naby Keita going the other way. Inter are said to rate the Italian in the region of £77.5million.

Liverpool signed Keita from RB Leipzig in 2017 after triggering his £48 million release clause.

The Guinean has however failed to live up to expectations at Anfield and has been linked with a move away from Merseyside this summer.

Early transfer window murmurings insinuated PSG were interested in the player. Those links have now disappeared.

And since then, reports have suggested Keita is set to stay at Liverpool with contract talks open between the 27-year-old and the club.

Nonetheless, Liverpool would surely be interested in moving him on if Inter were to be interested in a swap deal.

Barella has established himself as one of Europe’s top midfielders in recent years, and would add some of the star quality in places The Reds are perhaps missing.

If Inter were to entertain the idea of selling Barella this summer, they’d want more than £70 million for the player.

As such, as a considerably more valuable commodity than Keita, Inter would likely want money on top of the potential player swap.

One suspects this is a deal which is unlikely to come to fruition this summer.

It is not a move which would benefit Inter particularly greatly given Barella is the far superior player.

Meanwhile, Keita’s current contract talks at Anfield suggest Liverpool are pleased with the job the player is currently undertaking on Merseyside.

Liverpool fans might have to wait until next summer until their club acquire a new star to rejuvenate their ageing engine room.