Liverpool could capitalise on Atletico Madrid’s early exit from this season’s Champions League by signing Marcos Llorente.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who claim that Atletico’s Group Stage elimination has left them needing to balance the books.
As a result, they may now need to move several players on. Llorente is one of those names being mentioned as potentially up for sale. Liverpool, as well as Manchester United are said to have him ‘on their agenda.’
To turn that ‘attentiveness’ into something more tangible, either club would reportedly have to stump up around £35m.
Other players whose sales could raise the necessary funds include former Liverpool target Thomas Lemar and Joao Felix.
Liverpool not looking for a jack of all trades
From a Liverpool perspective, Atletico’s elimination earlier this week can only be good news. They now definitely won’t have to face Diego Simeone’s hell-raisers later on in the competition.
Furthermore, if they can pick up a player like Llorente on the cheap, then all the better. Unfortunately, we’ve got a feeling that Liverpool will only enjoy one of those two perks.
Llorente wouldn’t be a bad signing, especially at that kind of price. He was Liverpool’s tormentor back in 2020, famously naming his dog ‘Anfield’ after his Champions League double in the stadium [The Daily Mail].
But he just doesn’t fit into what Liverpool need right now.
On the one hand, his versatility could come in handy. Jurgen Klopp is well-known for gravitating towards multi-use players and Llorente is nothing if not versatile.
But at this moment in time, Liverpool could actually do with some midfielders who serve very specific purposes.
They don’t need another Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who is still searching for a defined position. They need young, hungry players who are on the way up. Someone like, say, Jude Bellingham.
There are definitely a number of players who would interest Klopp in an Atletico fire sale. But we’d encourage the Reds boss to be more on the Joao Felix end of things, rather than the Marcos Llorente one.
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