Jurgen Klopp did not sign his top centre-back target after a disagreement with the Liverpool owners, while Manchester City face competition for their top strike target – according to Wednesday’s transfer gossip.
FSG REJECTED KLOPP DEFENDER PLAN
Liverpool refused to back Jurgen Klopp in his desire to pursue a £100m deal for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
That’s according to The Sun, who claim that the Liverpool manager is becoming “increasingly frustrated” at the transfer policy of owners Fenway Sports Group.
Liverpool needed a new centre-back in the January window. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez were already injured at the start of the month, before Joel Matip suffered a season-ending blow of his own towards the end of the transfer window.
That prompted the Premier League champions to act. They signed Ben Davies from Preston in the Championship, and Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke.
Neither were particularly high-profile additions, although they will be hoping to prove their worth.
Instead, Klopp wanted to sign Koulibaly from Napoli, according to The Sun.
Koulibaly has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world during his time in Serie A. He commands a price tag of around £100m.
Ultimately, it was that valuation that put FSG off buying him – but not before Klopp had made his desires known.
The owners rejected the idea and it is suggested that Klopp does not understand their financial situation. Even so, he wanted a club of their size to be competing for players like Koulibaly.
At the age of 29, though, the Senegal international may not have been the best value-for-money option out there.
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MAN CITY FACE COMPETITION FOR LUKAKU
Paris Saint-Germain could rival Manchester City for the signing of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku. (Daily Mail)
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says it would be an “honour” to sign Mohamed Salah from Liverpool. However, they have no plans to do so. (Daily Mirror)
Kylian Mbappe has suggested that he still has a long-term future at PSG despite links with Liverpool. (Daily Express)
However, Real Madrid have been backed to sign either Mbappe or Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. (The Sun)
NEWCASTLE MAN WANTS OUT
Dwight Gayle is not happy with his lack of gametime at Newcastle and wants to leave as a free agent in the summer. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Manchester City are willing to open talks over a new deal for John Stones after his impressive form this season. (The Times)
David Beckham’s Inter Miami want to sign Kieran Gibbs from West Brom and have been offered former Chelsea forward Pato. Furthermore, as TEAMtalk recently revealed, Ryan Shawcross from Stoke is close to joining them. (The Sun)
Pep Guardiola could ask Ederson to take penalties for Man City to resolve their poor conversion rate from the spot. (The Independent)
PALACE CONSIDER HODGSON SUCCESSOR
Crystal Palace are not sure whether to extend Roy Hodgson’s deal as manager. They could opt for a younger replacement like Sean Dyche or Eddie Howe. (Daily Mail)
AC Milan want to offer a new contract to Zlatan Ibrahimovic that would keep him at San Siro until he was 41. (The Sun)
The EFL will try to bring salary caps back after they were adjudged to be “unlawful and unenforceable”. (Daily Mail)
The post Paper Talk: Klopp at loggerheads with FSG over failure to sign £100m Liverpool target; Man City face rival for Aguero successor appeared first on teamtalk.com.
Samuel Bannister
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