Liverpool make contact over €45M move for Manu Kone

Liverpool have made contact with Borussia Monchengladbach over the potential signing of Manu Kone after the Premier League leaders ended their interest in the summer.

Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign Kone in the summer as a replacement for the departing Fabinho but he ultimately missed out on the opportunity to move to Anfield due to a knee injury.

The injury has since healed and Kone is back to impressing in the Bundesliga which has led to Liverpool returning to the table as they search the market for a suitable defensive midfielder.

Bayern Munich make "initial offer" for Kone as Liverpool make contact

According to Spanish publication Fichajes, Bayern Munich are targeting a move to sign Manu Kone with fears at Borussia Monchengladbach that his €45 million (£38.9M) release clause is not sufficient to ward off interest.

Thomas Tuchel has personally recommended Kone to the Bayern board and the Bavarians are reportedly prepared to pay the required amount to trigger the midfielder's release clause.

"Pressure from Anfield" comes in the form of a Liverpool approach to Gladbach to "express their interest."

Klopp has been pushing the Reds recruitment team to identify a defensive midfielder he can sign to further rebuild the engine room after selling or releasing Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arthur Melo in the summer transfer window.

Kione is an excellent player and would certainly be a fine addition in the no.6 role.

Kone agreed personal terms with Liverpool in the summer

In June 2023, Liverpool reportedly agreed personal terms with Kone ahead of a planned transfer before he suffered a knee injury at the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Georgia and Romania.

It stands to reason that Kone would still be keen to join Liverpool given only injury prevented him from making the move to Merseyside.

Time will tell if this is a transfer that develops but it's certainly one that holds promise for the Reds.