Liverpool in 'pole position' to sign £44m-rated Dutch international: Reports

Liverpool are reportedly in pole position to sign Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners. The Dutchman is one of the midfield targets the Reds are keeping tabs on ahead of the summer transfer window.

As per a report in CalcioMercato, Koopmeiners is rated at £44 million by the Serie A side, and they are open to a sale. However, Liverpool are not the only side interested in the Dutchman.

Juventus are also keeping tabs on the midfielder as a replacement for Adrien Rabiot, whose contract is set to expire this summer. The Frenchman is keeping his options open and the Reds have been linked with him as well.

Jurgen Klopp's side are keen on adding players as their aging midfield has not been able to handle the pressure this season. Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner are expected to depart at the end of the season.

Liverpool urged to sign midfielders in the summer

Stan Collymore wrote about Liverpool's midfield issues this season and claimed that they should be letting Naby Keita leave in the summer. He does not believe the former RB Leipzig star has done anything at the club to deserve a new contract.

In his CaughtOffside column, Collymore wrote:

"I would definitely let Naby Keita go. His move from RB Leipzig back in 2018 was an exciting one because of how long the fans had to wait for him to join because of how the deal was constructed but it just hasn't worked out. Sometimes that happens in football when a player joins a club and fails to live up to expectations. He's been at Anfield long enough and if it hasn't worked by now, it never will, so the end of the season certainly feels like the right time to let him go."

He added:

"He's out of contract in the summer anyway so everything is pointing toward an end-of-season-exit. Liverpool's entire midfield needs transforming. Stefan Bajetic looks like a great prospect but there's no way Jurgen Klopp can be relying on an 18-year-old week in, week out. I honestly think that anything short of three or four new midfielders in the summer, with at least one of them being either Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham, won't be good enough. "

Apart from Koopmeiners, Rabiot, Daichi Kamada and Mason Mount have been linked with a move to Anfield.