Report on Liverpool target with £862m release clause

Real Madrid have moved to ward off interest in key midfielders, sealing new contract agreements with Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga.

A report from Forbes confirms that both midfielders have extended their stay with the La Liga giants by signing fresh contracts.

Along with the new contract, a massive announcement was the €1 billion (£862m) release clause in Valverde's terms – an eye-watering figure for any footballer.

This development makes it quite clear that Valverde is unlikely to be seen at Anfield anytime soon. But after the 2023 summer transfer window, perhaps Liverpool do not need him anymore.

Valverde not needed at Anfield since Szoboszlai signed for Liverpool

Liverpool may not have been able to sign Jude Bellingham in the summer and will likely not sign Valverde but Jurgen Klopp won't even bat an eye since signing Dominik Szoboszlai.

Spending £60 million on the Hungarian national team captain seemed like a good move initially and it seems even better now.

Today, the club announced he won the Goal of the Month award for September for his sensational strike against Leicester City, confirmation of his astonishing start to life at Anfield.

Szoboszlai will be delighted to have his contributions highlighted but he didn't join Liverpool for Goal of the Months award, he joined to win silverware.

A record that the young midfielder will want to continue is his record of winning a trophy in every single season since debuting as a professional footballer in 2017.

The silverware Szoboszlai has won in the last six years includes:

• German Cup Winner (21/22, 22/23)
• Austrian Bundesliga (17/18, 18/19, 19/20, 20/21)
• Austrian Cup Winner (18/19, 19/20, 20/21)

With a great start to the 2023/24 Premier League season, Liverpool are in with a shout to challenge for the title but they will need to find a way to control games more consistently.

When Jurgen Klopp and his plucky Reds romped to the title in 2019/20, they did so due to their unbelievable ability to retain possession and recycle it until a gap appeared to punish teams with penetrative passing to the front three.

Now, Liverpool lack the control to pin a team into its own half, relying on counter-pressing to create promising scenarios to launch attacks.

Szoboszlai has been key to the transformation of Liverpool compared to last season. While the habit of conceding early lingers, there is a rughlessness, an inevitability to the attacks that come from the Merseysiders.

While you still expect them to concede early and almost certainly first, Liverpool are now expected to score three in reply or die trying.

This season, Klopp's rebranded side has earned a hard-fought place in fourth, one point behind Manchester City.

It's too early to call whether Liverpool, or any other team, can outlast Man City but it's already clear that Szoboszlai's energy and pressing will be vital in maintaining a charge for the title.

Klopp also needs to get some luck with injuries although that will have to wait in light of Andy Robertson's confirmed dislocated shoulder.