Donyell Malen is on Michael Edwards’ radar and contact has been made with his agent Mino Raiola, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Anfield Central broke the news that contact would be made with Malen’s infamous agent at the end of June and this has now been corroborated.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – JUNE 27: Donyell Malen of Holland during the EURO match between Holland v Czech Republic at the Puskas Arena on June 27, 2021 in Budapest Hungary.(Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Ryan Gravenberch is also a player of interest but the same source that told us he would not leave this summer has informed us contact with Ajax is yet to be initiated.
Update on Liverpool interest in Malen
The Liverpool Echo’s David Lynch reports that Mino Raiola has been contacted by the Reds but that this does not necessarily mean he will move to Anfield.
The journalist reports that Malen is Dortmund’s first choice to replace Jadon Sancho.
BURTON UPON TRENT, ENGLAND – JUNE 14: Jadon Sancho of England during the England Open Training Session at St George’s Park on June 14, 2021 in Burton upon Trent, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
In my view, the Bundesliga outfit are surely favourites to land Malen given Raiola’s strong relationship with them and their history of developing young talent.
The Echo’s Lynch goes on to say Malen’s €100,000-per-week wage demands could also prove to be a major concern for Liverpool.
Liverpool’s major issue with attacking targets
The issue a club like Liverpool has is that signing cover for the likes of Mohamed Salah is made tricky by wages and the quality of the attacker in question.
UNSPECIFIED, AUSTRIA – JULY 13: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during a training session on July 13, 2021 in UNSPECIFIED, Austria. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
For instance, Jurgen Klopp could sign someone like Coman (if you ignore his fee) and pay him a huge wage to accept fewer minutes.
Or they could sign someone of lesser quality, save on wages but would be forced to accept inadequate cover for their best forwards.
With Malen, the forward wants regular minutes and a relatively large wage which puts Liverpool in a position where it might be better to look elsewhere.
