Jurgen Klopp charmed by £34m midfielder, Liverpool seriously interested in signing him

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been ‘charmed’ with the talents of Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kokcu.

Kokcu looks set to leave Feyenoord this summer, having captained them to Eredivisie title last season. Over recent weeks, his name has featured relatively prominently in terms of a move to Liverpool.

And now, as per Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, Klopp could perhaps be ready to make his move.

They claim that Liverpool aren’t currently favourites to land Kokcu. Benfica are said to have been in ‘pole position’ for the last few months. But with a deal yet to be agreed, the Portuguese side are reportedly now aware of Premier League interest.

That interest seems to be arriving from across the division, but the Reds are name-checked. Feyenoord are claimed to be asking for around £34m to sell Kokcu, who will reportedly make a decision over his future before Turkey’s Euro 2024 qualifiers later this month.

Klopp impressed with Kokcu

It isn’t too difficult to see why Klopp would have been charmed by Kokcu. The 22-year-old has been one of the best players in the Netherlands for a couple of years now.

Capable of scoring, assisting and creating, he’s the kind of midfielder that Liverpool have been lacking of late. Despite that, we have to say that Kokcu does somewhat resemble new signing Alexis Mac Allister.

As they scour the world for the right players to improve their midfield, the Reds will have short listed a great number of options. It’s likely that with his reasonable asking-price and availability, Liverpool have considered signing Kokcu.

But with a similar profile and also – unbelievably – a similar price, we think they’ve plumped for Mac Allister instead.

Of course, we could be completely wrong. Liverpool could indeed want to bring in both Alexis and Kokcu, as well as a more rangy player like Khephren Thuram.

We don’t see it, though. They need a mixture of players to complement what they already have.

It isn’t out of the question that Kokcu joins another Premier League side, though. Even if he opts to move to Benfica, we could see him ending up in England at some point down the line.