Ligue 1 star likely to remain at current club despite Liverpool interest - Reports

OGC Nice's Khephren Thuram is likely to stay put for another season despite reported interest from Liverpool.

According to L'Equipe (h/t Get Football News France), the midfielder could consider staying at Nice to bolster his chance of making France's UEFA Euro 2024 squad. He was called up for the first time by the senior team in March.

N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba are likely to be excluded from Didier Deschamps' team and Thuram could gradually become a regular starter for them. At Liverpool, he could have to face competition for playing time.

The Reds have Alexis Mac Allister, Jordan Henderson, Dominik Szoboszlai, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott as their first-team options in midfield. Thuram has also drawn interest from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

The France international moved to Nice from AS Monaco on a free transfer in 2019 and has since registered eight goals and 11 assists in 138 games. He can play as a No. 6 and as a No. 8 — something Jurgen Klopp would be attracted by.

Liverpool don't have solid competition in defensive midfield for Fabinho, whose form was erratic last season. Nice are also keen on keeping Thuram, 22, for another season before selling him next summer, when he enters the final year of his contract.

A new deal along with a pay raise at the Allianz Riviera is also an option.

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Liverpool star sets definitive goal for next season

Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has vehemently claimed that a top-four finish is the least the Reds will be targeting next season.

They finished fifth in the last campaign, which was their first finish outside the top four since the 2015-16 season. Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t Liverpool Echo), the England international said:

"Would we want to finish fifth next season? No. We want to be winning the league, we want to be challenging and being in title races and in Champions League football so to not be in that next season is disappointing.

"We know how to win the league, we know how to challenge City and go toe to toe with them and you need to be near perfect throughout the season so for us that's where our heads are at."

The 24-year-old will represent the Reds in the UEFA Europa League in the upcoming campaign. They failed to lift the trophy in Jurgen Klopp's first campaign on Merseyside, when they lost 3-1 to Sevilla in the final in May 2016.