Liverpool could be about to make an enormous bid to try and sign Morocco midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
At least that’s what former West Ham United sporting director Gianluca Nani thinks. Speaking to Radio Firenze Viola, Nani gave his take on Liverpool’s reported interest in the Fiorentina man.
“Amrabat is a very good player who didn’t get off to a good start (at Fiorentina). He may not be among the top three in the world in his role. But he is a good player who is justifying the money Fiorentina spent on him. He is at the heart of their project,” said Nani, who also had a two-year stint at Watford.
“Liverpool want him? I haven’t heard anything about that. But it’s true that Liverpool are looking for (players in) that role, and maybe more than one player. I don’t know if Amrabat is on their list. They will evaluate him, even if the intensity in the Premier League is a lot. If Liverpool want a player, they will spend even 100 million euros.
“As far as Fiorentina is concerned, I am always in favour of giving in to reasonable offers and then reinvesting in the appropriate manner.”
Liverpool not looking to break the bank on Amrabat
Straight off the bat, there’s absolutely no way that Liverpool will bid anything close to that amount for Amrabat.
It seems that the Reds are in fact interested in the 26-year-old. But that’s more than likely as a supplementary role to other top targets.
Certainly, it would be a bit of an anti-climax if Liverpool were to go from spending £100m on Jude Bellingham, to paying similar for Amrabat.
That isn’t to sell the Moroccan short, he’s obviously a very good player. But given his age profile and status, there seems little chance of him being the midfield signing that Liverpool have been waiting for.
Instead, he would be a superb addition as a rotational option in the squad. With the likes of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain needing to be replaced next summer, Liverpool have to bring in some of those options.
In that respect, Amrabat only needs to be an improvement on what Jurgen Klopp already has. Given the amount of game time shared between Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain, that shouldn’t be too difficult.
A more reasonable fee of somewhere close to £30m has been mentioned elsewhere. Although that’s still a big chunk of money, it sounds much more like it from a Liverpool point of view.
Meanwhile, Amrabat will be in action for Morocco today as they take on Spain for a place in the World Cup quarter final. A scouting mission for any Red at a loose end this afternoon.
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