‘Keep an eye’ on Liverpool trying to sign 23-year-old midfielder now – journalist

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Liverpool fans should ‘keep an eye’ on the prospect of their club signing Crystal Palace midfield Cheick Doucoure.

The 23-year-old has emerged as one of the players the Reds could turn to in order to plug the Fabinho-shaped hole set to open up in their squad.

And according to journalist David Lynch via his YouTube channel yesterday, Doucoure is a player who’s been on Liverpool’s radar before.

“Another one we’re hearing at the moment is Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure,” Lynch says. “I believe he was a player Liverpool liked before he moved to the Premier League. Would it make them like him even more now he has got that Premier League experience under his belt? Just the one season, but I believe it was a season he was Player of the Year at Crystal Palace amid some stiff competition.

“The fact that he stood out in a team that’s got that much quality suggests to me that maybe he is someone who’s still on Liverpool’s radar and they’re really looking at.

“They do like to sign those players even if it’s just the one season with a bit of Premier League experience, so that they can judge the statistics and the numbers behind them and see if they can translate to the Premier League. So I’d say with that one, maybe that’s one to keep an eye on, he does certainly fit the bill.”

Liverpool keeping tabs on Doucoure

Prior to the last couple of days, Doucoure was not a name many Liverpool fans would have been coveting.

Yes, he did indeed have a very good season with Palace. The 23-year-old was also very highly rated before joining them from Lens last year.

But, he’s a very ‘under the radar’ type of player. A holder by trade, Doucoure is a tough tackler and a tempo-setter. In other words, he’s exactly what Liverpool need.

As Lynch points out, the Mali international does have a few of the hallmarks of a Reds signing.

First of all, it is important that he has some Premier League experience. Having taken a look at him while at Lens, it seems Liverpool deduced that Doucoure just needed a ‘finishing school’ before making the leap to Anfield.

Having found that at Palace, and still being just 23, he now looks ready to push on and join a top team. The reported £50m asking price is also more-or-less in Liverpool’s usual shopping range.

If he did move to Anfield, Doucoure would have the chance to be an immediate starter and continue in that role for years to come. That may be underwhelming for supporters who were hoping for a big name to replace Fabinho. But for us, it looks just about perfect.