Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who was the first to break news of Chelsea’s desire to sign Romelu Lukaku, says Liverpool are in talks to sign Jeremy Doku this summer.
The Reds are in need of a new attacker but Liverpool’s remit these days is to add quality to their squad but without disturbing their harmony in place.
This can’t be done by signing a forward on £200,000 per week but signing a 19-year-old forward like Doku, who has bags of potential and the quality to make an immediate impact is the kind of target that makes perfect sense.
Liverpool reportedly want to sign Doku
While the club’s interest in the teenager stretches as far back as 2018 when he was given a tour of the Melwood, Voetbal24 reports Liverpool are keen on signing him this summer.
They report that Liverpool want Doku, who would cost €45million (£38.1m), and although the headline of the report reads: Jérémy Doku on his way to European superpower, the body of the text suggests, the Reds are biding their time.
The Anfield Talk spoke have done some digging and contacted Sacha Tavolieri and asked him about Liverpool’s interest in the forward.
He said it will take €50million (£43.2m) for Rennes to sell him this summer.
Now, LFC Transfer Room have spoken to him and Tavolieri “can confirm Liverpool are targeting Doku and that if everything goes well, they will go further with Rennes.”
He goes on to say that the Reds are in talks with the player’s “sports agency regarding him but they need to make space (by selling players) before making an offer.”
As an indication of the journalist’s reliability, he was the first to report on Chelsea’s interest in Romelu Lukaku and is considered to be trusted for matters relating to Belgian football.
🇧🇪🎖· "I can confirm Liverpool are targeting Doku and that if everything goes well, they will go further with Rennes. They are already in touch with their sports agency regarding him but they need to make space (by selling players) before making an offer"
Source: @sachatavolieri pic.twitter.com/k31tSnD9UF
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) August 11, 2021
Signing Doku seems like a no-brainer even if staying at Rennes would technically be better for the player’s personal development.
This season is going to be hugely competitive with all of Liverpool’s title rivals strengthening in attacking areas and with Jurgen Klopp the only manager set to lose two forwards during AFCON, he actually needs more reinforcement than anyone.
Fortunately, it seems as though there are real legs to Liverpool’s interest in Doku after Jurgen Klopp hinted that he and Michael Edwards were looking at making new signings before the transfer window shuts this summer.
The Belgian would be able to provide cover for both Mane and Salah as he can play on either wing and while Doku hasn’t played as a striker before, Klopp really loves to experiment so we’d probably see him feature there too.
Significantly, it would mean that for the games that Mane and Salah would miss while at AFCON, Klopp could field a front three of Jota, Firmino and Doku which is menacing on its own.