Liverpool to Reignite Interest in Borussia Mochengladbach’s Kone

Liverpool are reportedly set to ‘reignite’ their interest in Borussia Mochengladbach midfielder Manu Kone as they continue to rebuild their midfield. Following the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szobozslai earlier in the window, the Reds are expected to sign at least one more midfielder with Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Nice’s Kephren Thuram heavily linked.

Recent Transfers Indicate a Need for Another Midfielder

The need for another midfielder has only increased in recent days, with both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho tipped to make a move to Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we’re going to look deeper into why Liverpool are interested in Manu Kone and where he would fit into Jurgen Klopp’s short and long-term plans.

🚨 #Liverpool are still interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone

Kone is currently nursing an injury he sustained while featuring for France at the just-ended U21 European Championship#TransferNews https://t.co/sypN6mKCXO

— Joseph Agbobli (@joseph_agbobli) July 15, 2023

Who is Manu Kone?

Manu Kone is a 21-year-old versatile central midfielder, capable of playing as a defensive and attacking midfielder. The youngster is currently under contract for Bundesliga side, Borussia Mochengladbach, where his deal is currently set to expire in 2025 with an option for a further year.

Kone has made 60 appearances for Mochengladbach since his move from French side Toulouse back in January 2021, scoring four goals and assisting a further two. As well as impressing domestically, Kone has also represented France throughout multiple youth sides on the international stage and has made seven appearances for the Under-21’s.

The 21-year-old is often deployed in the natural number eight role for his club, where he’s involved in the transitional play from box-to-box both going forward and defensively.

Potential Liverpool Role For Kone

How would he fit in at Liverpool? As mentioned above, Kone has a very similar playing style and profile to former Reds midfielder Gini Wijnaldum. Both in terms of the physicality and the energy he brings to a midfield, but also the skill and quality he has to offer as well.

Liverpool have never really been able to replace Wijnaldum since his departure at the end of his contract back in 2021, with the likes of Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita not quite being able to offer the intensity that the Dutchman did on the left-hand side of Klopp’s midfield three.

However, in Klopp’s newest system that largely seems to use two defensive midfielders and two attacking midfielders, Kone might have some adapting to do if Liverpool were to sign him. Klopp could possibly look to turn the youngster into a defensive midfielder in a similar way to Stefan Bajcetic and Romeo Lavia who is a target for the Reds.

However, one stumbling block for me would be the fee that Mochengladbach are wanting for the 21-year-old, which is supposedly around £40million. There is undoubtedly bags of potential waiting to be unlocked with Manu Kone and Jurgen Klopp is more than likely to unleash that potential, but I believe a fee closer to £30million would be more reasonable for the Reds.

I think if the club were going to pay that sort of money for another midfielder, I would expect Romeo Lavia to be higher up on Liverpool’s priorities than Kone. Lavia is definitely more of a fitting option into the way in which Klopp seemingly wants to play and has proven that he has the ability to play in the Premier League.