Liverpool keeping tabs on 23-year-old star who played under Arne Slot at Feyenoord: Reports

Arne Slot's Liverpool have reignited their interest in former Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kokcu as per Portuguese newspaper Record. The 23-year-old played for the youth and senior teams of Feyenoord between 2014 and 2023.

The Turkish midfielder also played under current Liverpool boss Arne Slot. Orkun Kokcu made 175 appearances for the senior team of the Eredivisie giants, bagging 32 goals and 27 assists. Slot and Kokcu won the Eredivisie title in 2022-23 with Feyenoord and the Turk was also named the player of the year.

He later signed a contract with Benfica in July 2023 for a reported transfer fee of £20.9 million. As per the aforementioned report, the scouts of the Premier League side were present during Benfica's 5-0 victory over Rio Ave on Sunday, October 27. Kokcu played the whole 90 minutes for the Portuguese giants where he maintained a passing accuracy of 90% and also created four chances.

For Benfica, he has made 54 appearances across competitions, bagging 11 goals and 14 assists. Orkun Kokcu's current contract with Benfica will expire in June 2028 and his release clause is reported to be around £125 million which can be a problem for the Merseyside club.

Earlier this summer, the Reds failed to sign Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi as the 25-year-old decided to remain at Real Sociedad. However, Federico Chiesa penned a deal with Arne Slot's side, while Giorgi Mamardashvili will join Anfield next season.

Arne Slot provides major update about Liverpool forward Diogo Jota's injury

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has confirmed that Portuguese forward Diogo Jota won't return to action before the November international break. Jota suffered a rib injury during the Reds' 2-1 triumph over Enzo Maresca's Chelsea on Sunday, October 20, after he had a collision with Tosin Adarabioyo.

The 27-year-old is yet to return to training and he has already missed two matches for the Merseyside club. As revealed by Slot, the Portuguese forward will miss at least four more matches for Liverpool.

During a press conference ahead of the Reds' EFL Cup fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion, Arne Slot said (via BBC):

"Conor (Bradley) is training with us again so maybe he could be in the squad (for Wednesday's trip to Brighton in the EFL Cup). Jota not, Alisson not, Harvey Elliott not, Federico (Chiesa) not."

The Dutch manager was later asked if Diogo Jota could make his return for the Reds before the November international break. He added:

"No, it will be after that. Elliott the same."

Next up, the Merseyside club will travel to the Amex Stadium on Wednesday, October 30 to face Brighton in the EFL Cup before they host the Seagulls at Anfield on Saturday, November 2.