Liverpool Reporter Makes Admission Over Reported £70m Reds Target

Liverpool linked midfielder Cheick Doucoure has not caught the eye of Neil Jones, who claims the Mali international “wasn’t a player that I watched and thought he obviously looked like he would go higher than Palace.”

Jones, a Liverpool-focused journalist for Goal, admitted that Doucoure “registered on my radar a lot last season” but that he didn’t think the 23-year-old was “obviously” going to move on from Crystal Palace.

While Graeme Bailey of Sky Sports has said that Doucoure is highly rated by Liverpool’s analytics team, Jones believes that “maybe your eyes are drawn to other players like Michael Olise, Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze” when watching Palace.

Doucoure has only emerged as a transfer target for Liverpool in recent days, despite being named Palace’s Player of the Season in 2022/23.

Only five players in the Premier League averaged more interceptions per match than the Mali international last term, highlighting his ability to break up play in the middle of the park.

If Fabinho leaves Liverpool for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, as has been widely reported, the Reds will need to bring in a reliable defensive midfielder.

Although Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany has said that Liverpool are now firm favorites to sign Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, Doucoure is also worth considering as an alternative.

With various ins and outs still to be finalized, the next few days could be crucial in shaping Jurgen Klopp’s squad for the upcoming season.