Crystal Palace’s asking price to sell Cheick Doucoure may now be too high for Liverpool.
The Reds have been heavily linked with a move for Doucoure over the past few days. But with Palace reportedly slapping a £70m valuation on the Malian, he isn’t going to come cheap.
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, that may now be an issue for Liverpool. Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jacobs said that although they like Doucoure, his fee ‘could be a problem’ for the Reds.
“Liverpool need to move in midfield because [Jordan] Henderson is on the brink of going to Saudi Arabia, as is Fabinho,” says the journalist. “So, it’s about Liverpool finding replacements in midfield.
“I would keep an eye on Doucoure, but the price could be a problem. I would also look at [Romeo] Lavia, but the price could also be an issue. And then there are a few other targets in midfield that they are looking at.”
Doucoure too steep for Liverpool
If the price is too high for Liverpool to sign Lavia, then it’s definitely too high for them to bring in Doucoure.
Lavia is supposedly on the market for around £50m this summer. According to the figures being reported over the last couple of days, that’s considerably cheaper than Doucoure.
Yes, they are of different levels of experience, with the Palace midfielder four years the Belgian’s senior.
But in terms of ability or at least potential ability, there really isn’t very much between them at all. In fact, you’d probably have to say that Lavia is more fairly valued.
So, it does rather beg the question of who on earth Liverpool could be looking at, for a reasonable fee.
As every club on the planet now knows, they are desperate for a midfielder or two. That isn’t exactly the best of landscapes to go searching for a bargain in.
Knowing Liverpool, they’ll probably end up turning one up somewhere. But unless these two player’s prices coming down, we don’t think it’ll be either of them.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
