Liverpool keeping tabs on midfielder with £32 million release clause after missing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia – Reports

Liverpool are reportedly keeping tabs on PSV Eindhoven star Ibrahim Sangare after failing to sign Brighton & Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo and Souhampton's Romeo Lavia.

The Reds are in pursuit of a defensive midfielder following the exits of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho for a combined £52 million sum. They have also lost a few other midfielders like James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita recently.

Liverpool identified Lavia as their prime target at the start of the last month but failed to secure the Manchester City youth product's services, lodging three offers that fell below the Saints' asking price of £50 million. They also tried to hijack Chelsea's deal for Caicedo by agreeing a British record £110 million fee with Brighton, only to be snubbed by the defensive midfielder.

In the last few days, Chelsea have edged ahead of Jurgen Klopp's outfit in the race to sign the pair. While the Blues have reportedly agreed a £115 million sum to sign the Ecuadorian, they're also said to be in advanced negotiations to sign the Belgian for £55 million.

Now, according to Eindhovens Dagblad journalist Rik Elfrink, Liverpool have opted to set their eyes on Sangare in the final two weeks of the ongoing summer transfer window. They are, however, expected to face competition from Bayern Munich.

Sangare, who has a contract till 2027 at the Philips Stadion, has a release clause of £32 million. He could decide to move to either Liverpool or Bayern due to their stature in European football. However, his preference remains unknown.

He could be a key starter in Klopps's team, ahead of Stefan Bajcetic at the base of their midfield in a 4-3-3 setup. Sangare has scored 14 goals and provided ten assists in 136 appearances across competitions for PSV, winning five trophies.

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Who are Liverpool's other midfield targets?

Liverpool are in a proper fix with no established defensive midfield option. Reds manager Jurgen Klopp handed £35 million summer signing Alexis Mac Allister a start in the No. 6 role in their 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sunday (August 13) in their Premeir League opener.

The Merseyside outfit have Stefan Bajcetic, who's going to turn 19 in October this year, as their sole natural holding midfield option. As a result, they're said to continue keeping tabs on more experienced campaigners like Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina), Cheick Doucoure (Crystal Palace) and Joao Palhinha (Fulham).

Meanwhile, the Reds could also step up their interest in other transfer targets like Manu Kone, Florentino Luis and Youssouf Fofana. They were also said to be in talks with Brasileiro Serie A outfit Fluminense over a permanent transfer of Andre Trindade last month.