Ligue 1 outfit Nantes are pushing to sell Randal Kolo Muani to Liverpool, according to Sport Bild, after Jurgen Klopp’s interest in the forward was revealed by Bild this month.
Muani, 23, has scored 7 goals and assisted 3 for Nantes this season which is a decent if not sensational return.
His contract with the French club expires in the summer and so Nantes are pushing to sell the £10.80m-valued forward otherwise they risk losing him for free at the end of the season.
Liverpool appear to be a club they have earmarked for the 23-year-old, according to Sport Bild, as they’d rather sell him to the Reds than to Eintracht Frankfurt as the Bundesliga outfit made ‘unauthorised contact’ with the player.’
With the Reds in need of attacking reinforcements, signing Muani this month on the cheap might give Jurgen Klopp more options but there’s only one game left until Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Muani is a decent player but he’s not on the level required to help Liverpool keep pace with the likes of Manchester City in the Premier League as the Reds face the daunting task of making ground on an 11-point deficit in the title race.
There are much better players out there that the Reds could be signing and with the likes of Raphinha on the club’s radar, I would be extremely surprised to see the Bondy-born centre-forward move to Anfield.
His return of 10 goals and 9 assists last season was fantastic but his lack of Premier League or European experience makes signing him a bit risky as there is no way to judge how well he would adjust to life in England.
In the absence of Salah and Mane, I’ve been impressed with how the front three of Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Takumi Minamino has linked up and if Klopp can keep them fit, get Divock Origi back to full fitness and rotate them all to keep them in form, the Reds could get back to their free-scoring best very soon.
Especially with the news that the coaching staff will welcome Thiago Alcantara back to training after the international break which should see him return just in time to face Inter Milan in the Champions League.
The Serie A league leaders host Liverpool in mid-February in the Round of 16 as the Reds look to reclaim the European Cup after last winning it in 2019 in Madrid when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 thanks to goals from Salah and Origi.
