Liverpool in strong position as €50m swoop 'increasingly close' - second summer signing could finally happen

Saul's move from Atletico Madrid is increasingly close and Liverpool are in a strong position to sign him, according to reputable Spanish outlet Sport.

They claim that Liverpool and Manchester United are the running favourites to sign him and now say that his departure from the capital is 'increasingly close'.

What this means exactly is unclear but with the clock on the transfer window running down, it is obvious that the Spaniard needs to sort his future out sooner rather than later.

While Saul has a €150million (£128m) release clause in his Atleti contract, the La Liga outfit is prepared to accept a huge loss and sell him for €50m (£43m).

Signing the 26-year-old ahead of Manchester United would be fantastic and not just because of bragging rights - they have already had a scary transfer window.

Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane have already been confirmed as United players and adding a world-class no.8 with a proven track record in Europe would be worrying for Liverpool fans.

Closer to home, however, Jurgen Klopp will be more concerned with replacing Georginio Wijnaldum, who the Athletic claims was a player the German was desperate to keep.

If Liverpool fail to replace Wijnaldum, who made the most appearances in his time at Anfield, both Klopp and FSG will need to answer questions pertaining to negligence.

After we saw what happened when Liverpool failed to replace Dejan Lovren, a player widely considered to be relatively unimportant, I can only imagine what would happen if we failed to replace Wijnaldum, a key cog in the machine that won the Champions League, the Premier League while also picking up minor pieces like the Super Cup and Club World Cup.

Adding Saul or another suitably talented, industrious and experienced midfielder is not just important - it's imperative.

Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have shown glimpses of what they can achieve when fully fit but there's no telling if they can maintain that fitness for 30+ league games.

If they can't Klopp will find himself in a position where he will be competing with the Manchester money and Thomas Tuchel's tireless Chelsea side without the tools required.

And FSG will not be able to say they didn't have 21/22 as a season to learn from or this summer to prepare for.