Liverpool prepared to pay £77.6M to sign Federico Valverde

Liverpool are reportedly prepared to pay Real Madrid £77.6M to seal a move for Federico Valverde to Anfield.

It has been well-publicised that Jurgen Klopp is in the market for midfielders and after signing Alexis Mac Allister, the German is not done yet.

Reports from Spain suggest that Liverpool are working on signing Federico Valverde after failing to sign him at the end of the 2022 summer transfer window.

The Reds' interest in Valverde coincides with Real Madrid's desire to expedite a move to sign Kylian Mbappe after Karim Benzema secured a blockbuster moved to Al-Ittihad.

Los Blancos are expected to announce a major departure to fund a move for Mbappe but after signing new contracts, it's unlikely to involve Toni Kroos, Luka Modric or Dani Ceballos.

Jude Bellingham has just joined Madrid and his arrival could place Valverde on the bench although Aurelien Tchouameni could also be in danger of losing his place in the squad.

After attempting to sign him last summer, Klopp has returned for Valverde. The German manager could reportedly "take advantage" of the doubt surrounding Valverde at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Liverpool are prepared to capitalise on this opportunity with a €90M (£77.6M) offer ready.

Real Madrid could "sacrifice" Valverde to sign Mbappe but there are a number of issues to address first.

• Firstly, it's doubtful that Liverpool will sanction such a fee for Valverde after deciding to pass up on Bellingham before his move to Madrid.

• Secondly, several reports state that Valverde has no intention of leaving the Spanish outfit.
• Thirdly, his current contract includes a ridiculous €1 billion (£860m) release clause.

It might just be that Valverde is the perfect right-sided midfielder for Jurgen Klopp's tactical approach. However, the Uruguayan is unlikely to play alongside Darwin Nunez for the Reds until more reliable news outlets corroborate this story.

It's a pity. The 24-year-old scored 12 goals and got seven assists last season, patrolling the right flank for Carlo Ancelotti with elite consistency.