Liverpool could pull off their own free transfer as they look to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, who appears set to join Real Madrid next summer.
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season.
Liverpool are hoping to strike terms over a new deal but reports in Spain claim a summer transfer to Real is on the cards.
Advert
Alexander-Arnold would sign for the La Liga giants on a free transfer.
Liverpool, however, could utilise the free agency market themselves in an effort to replace the 26-year-old should he leave his boyhood club at the end of the season.
The Reds could look to sign Nottingham Forest right-back Ola Aina, who is out of contract in the summer.
Aina, who has started every Premier League game this season, would fit the bill, having starred at right-back this campaign, enhancing his reputation with his performances.
The 28-year-old has been instrumental in Forest's success this season and started his side's 1-0 victory at Anfield last September.
Jamie Carragher has already approved the potential transfer as he included Aina in his Premier League Team of the Season so far and backed him to play in the Champions League.
"Ola Aina plays right-back and left-back. Every time I watch him he does that job on both sides, and every time I watch him I do look at him and think he could play for a team who expects to be in the Champions League every season," he said on Sky Sports.
Aina, who started his professional career at Chelsea, joined Forest following his Torino release.
He's in his second season at the club, making 41 appearances across all competitions.
Forest, though, won't want to lose Aina and are in talks with his representatives over a new contract, according to Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
Topics: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, Jamie Carragher, Football
Nasir Jabbar