Exclusive: Liverpool to hold meeting with agent of £40million midfielder on Friday

A source close to Anfield Central claims Liverpool are holding a meeting with Yves Bissouma's agent on Friday as the Reds look to ramp up their transfer plans.

Sporting director Michael Edwards is closing in on a deal to sign Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig for around £36million.

The Frenchman has been on the club's radar for months. We reported earlier this month that once the Premier League season had been concluded, Michael Edwards would finalise the deal and pay the release clause.

Attention has now turned to signing a new midfielder with Georginio Wijnaldum joining Barcelona as a free agent. Bissouma is a player that Liverpool really like and has been vetted by the club, earning rave reviews from those close to Brighton.

Liverpool will meet with his agent at their London offices on Friday to discuss what it would take to attract Bissouma to Anfield. Champions League qualification means that a move to Arsenal is no longer as attractive as it might have been had the Reds missed out on a top-four finish.

Anfield Central understands that while Bissouma is a boyhood Arsenal fan, he is considering all his options and with his agent set to meet with Liverpool, it will be interesting to see what the outcome of that meeting will be.

The Mali international is the perfect fit for Jurgen Klopp's side, with his dribbling and press resistance something that made Wijnaldum such an effective player during his time on Merseyside.

According to Squawka, Bissouma made 104 tackles in the Premier League this season which is more than Leceister City's Wilfred Ndidi (96) and way more than Georginio Wijnaldum (23). Thiago made 61 and Fabinho made 58.

The 24-year-old would make Liverpool's midfield even more combative than it already is and would ensure that if the Reds lost the ball in transition, they would be well-equipped to win it straight back.

A deal to sign the former Lille midfielder will cost around £40million and Liverpool are wary of spending so much replacing a player they had to let leave for free.