Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is reportedly looking inside the Premier League to fix its attack, while AS Roma’s Jose Mourinho continues to pursue one of his former North London rivals.
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At least that’s what the transfer rumor mill is churning out, as PL clubs jockey to take Man City off its Premier League perch and remove Chelsea from the Champions League podium.
Raphinha to Liverpool
Having added to its depth in defense with Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool has reportedly turned its eyes domestically to spur its attack.
Raphinha is the target mentioned in Brazil as Liverpool considers a $44 million move for the Leeds United sparkplug.
A bag of tricks with power to boot, the 24-year-old Raphinha collected six goals and nine assists in 30 Premier League appearances since Marcelo Bielsa signed him from Stade Rennais last fall.
Raphinha finished strong, too with three assists in Leeds’ four-match winning streak at the end of the season.
Liverpool paid Wolves almost the exact fee for Diogo Jota, so Raphinha isn’t coming for any less than the $44 million price tag.
Would you expect Bielsa to cash in, or hold out for more?
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Xhaka to Roma latest
Reports of Jose Mourinho’s hopes to bring Granit Xhaka from London to Rome are not going away, and now there are details as to how Roma plans to play less than Arsenal’s asking price.
Last week, Mourinho was said to have circled Xhaka as a No. 1 target for the summer transfer window with Roma hoping that $15 million would do the trick despite Arsenal hoping for $30 million.
Now comes CalcioMercato.com saying that Roma will offer two younger talents to the Gunners in a swap deal:
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Cengiz Under: The 23-year-old winger went on loan to Leicester City in September, joining best pal Caglar Soyuncu but getting all of his 941 minutes before the end of February. Under scored twice with three assists for the Foxes, but has a 10-assist season for Roma and an 8-goal campaign.
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Amadou Diawara plays the same position as Arsenal defensive midfielder Thomas Partey. The 12-times capped Guinean international turns 24 in July and made 58 appearances for Roma over the past two seasons.
Diawara makes a bit more sense assuming that Mikel Arteta rates him and is willing to let him go, but there’s some serious grasping at straws here as Roma does not have too many intriguing pieces that Mourinho would be willing to send away.
Transfer news: Xhaka to Roma with swap options; Raphinha to Liverpool originally appeared on NBCSports.com