Chelsea join Liverpool in race for £44 million rated Premier League midfielder - Reports

Chelsea are set to battle Liverpool in their pursuit of Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Matheus Nunes.

According to The Telegraph's Mike McGrath, the 24-year-old is well-admired at Stamford Bridge, and they could join the race when the player becomes available on the market.

Nunes arrived at Molineux in the previous summer from Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon for a club-record £38m with £4.2m in add-ons. However, the player has suffered from injuries and has not had the desired impact. He has one assist in 22 appearances for Wolves.

Thus, reports suggest that he could be available, and the Reds have kept their interest in him alive after bidding for him before he joined Wolves. The report adds that a deal could be struck for around £44 million.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be keen on strengthening the midfield. With players like Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, and Jordan Henderson seemingly past their prime, the Merseyside club are looking to revamp that part of their squad, and Nunes will be a welcome addition. They have already been linked with Borussia Dortmund superstar Jude Bellingham for a move over the summer.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have already expressed interest in signing multiple midfielders this window. Nunes joins a list of targets that includes the likes of West Ham's Declan Rice, Brighton and Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo, and Benfica's Enzo Fernandez.

They already had proposals for Caicedo and Fernandez rejected by the clubs. The Blues will be looking to add midfielders to their squad as well, with the contracts of Jorginho and N'Golo Kante set to expire over the summer.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp takes dig at Chelsea

Jurgen Klopp spoke about the rebuild necessary at Anfield.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has taken an apparent swipe at Chelsea's lavish transfer spending. Both clubs have had a terrible season, with Liverpool lying in ninth, ten points off the top four, and the Blues in tenth.

Speaking on Mike Calvin’s Football People Podcast, he spoke about the need for a rebuild after signing a new contract.

He added:

"I’m not saying it’s the biggest challenge, but it’s a challenge, and it was one of the main reasons why I signed a new contract because I knew it’s necessary."

He said:

"There are obviously plenty of different ways you can do it, but it’s all based on the situation you are in, especially with the things happening around, Chelsea with the new ownership obviously, nobody knows exactly how they do it, how they can spend this much money."