Liverpool leading interest in £54million star that dazzled the EUROs

Liverpool are leading the 'group' of interested clubs chasing Federico Chiesa this summer, according to Calciomercato.

The Italian was his country's brightest attacker at the EUROs this summer as they beat England on penalties to win the final on Sunday.

He scored just two goals but his dribbling was crucial in helping Italy overcome Austria while his movement is incredibly difficult to defend against.

What are the reports from Italy saying?

Italian outlet Calciomercato reports that Juventus will not consider selling Chiesa this summer and have deemed him to be non-transferable.

They claim that if "only a crack were opened, half the Premier League would swoop down on him, with Liverpool leading the big group."

Bayern Munich, headed by Julian Nagelsmann, tried to sign the 23-year-old but were unsuccessful as the Serie A giants are refusing to listen to offers.

Transfermarkt values him at £54million (€63.4m) and that would surely be beyond Liverpool's financial capabilities anyway.

If not Chiesa, then who?

Liverpool are interested in Donyell Malen but will need to fend off serious competition from Borussia Dortmund as the Bundesliga stalwarts search for a Jadon Sancho replacement.

Beyond the Dutchman, it's unclear who Liverpool can sign if they are to follow the same blueprint that led them to signing Diogo Jota last summer.

The Portuguese forward enjoyed a stellar first season at Anfield and had he not missed 21 games through injury, he could have got way more than the 13 goals he managed.

When signing Jota, Liverpool looked at his young age, his versatility, his pace, his clinical finishing, his ability to turn with the ball and run at defences as well as his willingness to play second fiddle to Sadio Mane at least initially.

The Liverpool ECHO claims that Malen wants regular minutes and €100,000/week to leave PSV Eindhoven which could be an issue for the Reds.

Unless they guarantee him a starting role over Bobby Firmino, he will need to make do with a place on the bench and force his way into the starting XI.

Beyond Malen, there seem to be very few obvious alternatives but that's the beauty of a sporting director like Michael Edwards.

Liverpool fans regularly sing his praises and rightly so as the 41-year-old always seems to have backup options to his first-choice targets.

Mohamed Salah was signed when Mario Gotze told the Reds no, Roberto Firmino was signed when Memphis Depay rejected them and now with Malen potentially slipping away, I have no doubt that Edwards has already alerted Jurgen Klopp to backup targets.