According to reports in recent days, Liverpool defensive midfielder Fabinho is on the radar of multiple Saudi clubs for a rumoured fee of around £40million.
If the Brazilian was to leave the club this summer, that would leave Jurgen Klopp with just one natural defensive midfielder in 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic.
The Reds have already consistently been linked with moves for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Nice’s Kephren Thuram this summer, with both players valued at around £45million.
However, today we’re going to look at a few potential Liverpool targets for this summer that you might not have heard been linked with the Reds so far this window.
Ibrahim Sangare:
Ibrahim Sangare is a 25-year-old defensive midfielder, currently playing for PSV Eidenhoven in the Eredivisie.
The Ivory Coast international has made 133 appearances for PSV across all competitions since his move from Toulouse in 2020, scoring 13 goals and assisting a further nine.
In the 2022/23 season, the midfielder made 45 appearances in all competitions and was directly involved in 12 goals.
Sangare has also already made 31 caps for Ivory Coast, scoring nine goals from defensive midfield.
As well as his obvious creative abilities, Sangare is also a fantastic defensive talent both physically and in terms of his ability to read the game well.
The 25-year-old impressively boasts an average of 7.58 progressive passes and 6.29 passes into the final third per 90 minutes last season, showing how progressive he can be on the ball.
Furthermore, Sangare averaged an astonishing 9.69 ball recoveries and 2.66 tackles per 90 minutes.
PSV would likely demand a fee of around £40million for Sangare, which wouldn’t be an issue for the Reds should Fabinho leave the club.
Florentino Luis:
Florentino Luis is a 23-year-old defensive midfielder, currently playing for SL Benfica in Liga Nos in Portugal.
Luis has previously been linked with a move to Liverpool, but the Reds have never pushed on with a concrete offer for the Portuguese youngster.
The 23-year-old would likely be a cheaper option that Sangare, with a bid of around £25million likely be enough to persuade Benfica to sell.
The midfielder has made 86 appearances for Benfica, scoring one goal and assisting four since his debut for the club.
54 of those appearances came in the 2022/23 season, which saw Benfica reach the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Despite his solid performances for Benfica, Luis is yet to be rewarded with a cap for the Portugal National Team.
Although Luis isn’t quite as progressive as Sangare, he’s just as capable as a defender which is the main job of the Fabinho role under Jurgen Klopp.
Luis still manages an impressive 7.00 progressive passes per 90 minutes, which is still considerably more than Fabinho for Liverpool last season.
Defensively, Luis completed 7.00 ball recoveries, 3.48 tackles, 2.67 interceptions and 1.10 blocks per 90 minutes.
Moises Caicedo:
Perhaps the most unlikely option on this list, Caicedo is a 21-year-old midfielder for Brighton & Hove Albion but is expected to leave the club this summer.
The Ecuadorian is likely to cost around £70million, with Chelsea currently leading Manchester United in the race to sign the youngster this summer.
That being said, if the likes of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson were to leave the club then there could possibly be a small chance of Liverpool hijacking the deal for the highly-rated player.
Caicedo made 43 appearances for the Seagulls last season, being a standout player alongside Alexis Mac Allister who has already made the move to Anfield this summer.
The 21-year-old averaged 7.11 ball recoveries and 2.87 tackles per 90 minutes for Brighton in the 2022/23 campaign.
Regularly compared to N’Golo Kante, Caicedo is a small, quick player who covers huge amounts of ground per game and would be perfect in Liverpool’s intense pressing patterns.
Summary:
In terms of value for money, I would suggest that Ibrahim Sangare could potentially be the smartest purchase for the Reds.
However, in signing Caicedo you would get a player who has already fit in to the style of the Premier League and a move would also prevent a major rival in Chelsea or Manchester United from strengthening themselves.
Florentino Luis would be a cheaper option should the funds not quite be there after Liverpool go after Levi Colwill to strengthen their defense, for example.
