Slot planning to keep Liverpool duo at Anfield, but £75m+ for both could tip the scales – report
Liverpool appear to have named their prices for two players who’ve been linked with moves away from Anfield this summer.
Caoimhin Kelleher has indicated that he’s ready to depart the Reds in search of regular game-time elsewhere, while Barcelona continue to covet Luis Diaz, particularly with Al-Hilal being very keen on Raphinha.
In the latest Transfer DealSheet roundup for The Athletic, James Pearce and Andy Jones reported that Arne Slot is planning ahead with the pair still part of his squad and specified the asking prices for the Irish goalkeeper and Colombian forward.
The report stated: ‘As reported in the DealSheet last week, Caoimhin Kelleher and Diaz remain part of Slot’s plans for next season and only offers above £25million and £50million respectively could make Liverpool reconsider.’
In a market where players like Moises Caicedo can fetch £115m, a combined £75m is the very least that Liverpool should be demanding for Kelleher and Diaz, and even that seems less than their true value.
James Trafford, who lost his place at relegated Burnley earlier this year, is valued at £20m by the Clarets. His positional peer at Anfield has won several major trophies with the Reds and excelled when stepping up to cover for the injured Alisson Becker this season.
The 25-year-old has also nailed down the starting berth for Republic of Ireland and, quite frankly, LFC should seek a minimum of £30m for him, especially when finding a replacement of similar quality who’d be happy to play backup to the Brazilian will be no easy task.
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As for Diaz, there’s an argument to be made that Liverpool are well stocked for left wingers and that, having scored the fewest goals of our five senior forwards last season despite playing the most minutes (Transfermarkt), he’d be our most dispensable forward.
On the face of it, £50m might seem like a reasonable price for the Colombian, but then you hear of Everton demanding £80m for Jarrad Branthwaite (or Crysencio Summerville potentially fetching around £40m for Leeds) and you realise that the Reds would be within their rights to seek much more for the 27-year-old.
Considering how injuries decimated our attacking options at one stage during the spring, it’d only make sense to part with our number 7 if an equally gifted alternative would be brought in straight away, and even then Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes must hold out for what Lucho is truly worth.
Thankfully the former has an unparalled reputation for extracting top value from player sales, so Liverpool are unlikely to jettison either Kelleher or Diaz without receiving what they deem to be fair value for the duo.
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