With just three games of the season left to play, talk is rapidly starting to turn to the summer transfer window for Liverpool.
The Reds have much to do in the market, as Arne Slot looks to build on an unprecedented first season at Anfield.
Few had expected Slot to even come close to winning the Premier League at the very first attempt, but the Liverpool head coach will not yet be satisfied.
Having clinched the title with what is still largely Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool squad, Slot will be hoping to bring in some players of his own this summer.
Despite all the apparent complications of securing his signature, talk had grown louder over recent days that Kevin De Bruyne could join Liverpool.
However, after calming any talk of De Bruyne arriving at Anfield, journalist David Ornstein also put a sharp pin in another potential dream transfer for Liverpool this summer.
David Ornstein kills Liverpool’s Carlos Baleba hope
In many ways, De Bruyne would be an ideal addition to Liverpool’s midfield. The Belgian could replace the creativity of Trent Alexander-Arnold while adding experience and quality to the mix.
Nevertheless, there is also a clear argument that De Bruyne is past his best and that Liverpool should be targeting a younger option in order to finally complete their midfield.
Many see Brighton’s Carlos Baleba as an ideal fit for Liverpool in this respect, with the 21-year-old blossoming into one of the best all-round midfielders in the Premier League. It’s fair to say Baleba would be a dream addition for plenty of supporters.
But speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic, Ornstein explained exactly why the Cameroonian is highly unlikely to depart Brighton this summer.
“Baleba has many admirers, believe me. And rightly so,” he began. “However, I imagine Brighton have no desire or need to sell him in this summer’s window and when that is the case, they tend to get their way.
“He has enjoyed a superb first couple of years with them and is under contract until 2028. That puts Brighton in a position of great strength. There is also no indication he is agitating for a move. So it would take a king’s ransom for Brighton to even consider parting with Baleba — and I’m not aware of anyone preparing to go to such lengths at present.
“We’ve seen this movie many times over,” Ornstein added. “Brighton and their owner, Tony Bloom, are among the shrewdest operators in the market, and they control these situations particularly well. That probably explains the lack of chatter you refer to.”
What did Ornstein say about De Bruyne?
With Brighton unwilling to sell for anything but an enormous fee, there’s simply no chance of Liverpool going in for Baleba this summer. Anyone waiting on that to happen is fooling themselves.
And although Liverpool fans were getting excited about De Bruyne, that was also a non-starter.
“As far as we understand, Hugo, Liverpool won’t be signing De Bruyne once his Manchester City contract expires this summer,” Ornstein told one supporter on Thursday.
“He is good friends with members of their squad, notably Virgil van Dijk, and I’m sure those guys would love to play alongside him, but any notion of the Premier League champions moving for him is thought to be wide of the mark.”
Things can change quickly in the transfer market, of course. But unless there’s a drastic shift in either of these two players’ situations, they aren’t coming to Liverpool any time soon.
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