Talks ongoing: Liverpool could snap up 23y/o colossus for under £40m; stalling on contract offer

There could be a window of opportunity for Liverpool to win the transfer race for an in-demand centre-back this summer.

As reported in The Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, talks are ongoing over a potential €45m (£38m) swoop for Odilon Kossounou, who features prominently among the Reds’ wish list and is also regarded highly by Manchester United and Newcastle.

The 23-year-old is deemed an ‘affordable’ option for the Premier League trio and has been offered a new contract at Bayer Leverkusen, although he’s yet to decide on whether or not to remain with the Bundesliga champions and is reportedly open to moving on from the BayArena.

READ MORE: Liverpool could be made to wait for transfer decision on Euro 2024 gem who’s wowed Bellingham

READ MORE: Dutch pundit drops Arne Slot prediction that Liverpool fans would dearly love to come true

If Kossounou were to join Liverpool, hopefully he could bring with him the regularity of tangible success that he’s enjoyed in the first six months of this year, having won a domestic double with Leverkusen and also tasted Africa Cup of Nations glory with Ivory Coast in February.

The 23-year-old is an exciting centre-back who excels with the ball at his feet – as per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for successful take-ons and progressive carries per 90, along with the top 2% for progressive passes and top 4% for shot-creating actions.

Follow Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE

However, he falls down for defensive essentials such as tackles, aerial duels and clearances per game, while his predominant right-footedness corresponds with each of our current options in that area of the pitch rather than complementing them.

Still, he could be a very worthy squad option to consider, given his contributions to a historic season for Leverkusen and his reliability in terms of being available for selection – he’s only missed eight games through injury in his career so far (Transfermarkt).

With Kossounou stalling on the contract offer from his current club, seemingly open to a move elsewhere and available for a less than bank-breaking amount, he appears to be a more than viable transfer target for Liverpool to pursue strongly this summer.

EOTK Close-up with John Welsh: ‘a local lad who lived his dream’ and Slot’s LFC predictions

The post Talks ongoing: Liverpool could snap up 23y/o colossus for under £40m; stalling on contract offer appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.